Regular season finale set for Sunday at noon
Â
VALPARAISO, Ind. – Izzy Vetter tossed an 8-inning complete game to help the University of Evansville softball team split Saturday’s doubleheader at Valparaiso. After dropping the opener by a 5-1 final, the Purple Aces rebounded to take the second game, 2-1.
Game One – Valparaiso 5, UE 1
Valparaiso plated a pair of runs in the first and second innings to open the day with a 5-1 victory. Jaina Westphal opened the scoring with a home run in the bottom half of the first before the Beacons added an unearned run. Evansville countered with a run in the top of the second to cut the VU lead in half. Haley Woolf reached on an error and would score on an RBI single by Jenna Nink.
The Beacons scored two more in the second when Lauren Kehlenbrink had a 2-RBI double. They tacked on one more in the fifth to take the 5-1 win. Easton Seib picked up the win, allowing one run on four hits in the complete game.
Game Two – UE 2, Valparaiso 1
Up by a 1-0 score for the majority of the game, the Aces fended off a late rally by the Beacons to take a 2-1 win in eight innings to split the two Saturday contests. Evansville scored its first run in the top of the second. Jessica Fehr recorded a leadoff double and moved to third on a single by Alyssa Barela. Hannah Hood laid down a perfect bunt single to bring in Fehr and give the Aces a 1-0 lead.
Over the next four innings, Izzy Vetter allowed just three hits to keep Valpo scoreless, but that changed in the sixth when Lauren Kehlenbrink posted an RBI single to tie the game. The Beacons threatened with a hit in the seventh, but Vetter kept things tied up as the game headed to extras. It was Fehr drawing the leadoff walk before moving to second on a sacrifice by Haley Woolf before scoring on a wild pitch. In the bottom of the 8th, Vetter kept the Beacons scoreless to secure her 15th victory of the season. She scattered seven hits over eight innings and struck out six. UE had four hits.
On Sunday, the teams will square off for the regular season finale at 12 p.m.
