The Buccaneer softball team swept Lawrence in a pair of exciting comeback wins on the road Sunday. Beloit took game one 4-3 and the nightcap 9-8.
There was no shortage of drama as both games came down to the final frame.
The Vikings took an early lead in the opener of the twinbill plating three runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Emily Stapay sparked the Buc offense with a solo blast the sailed over the centerfield fence to but the Bucs on the board and make it 3-1.
Beloit's defense held after a leadoff double for Lawrence in the bottom of the fifth and then sat the Vikings down in order in the sixth. Fueled by a quick defensive stand,
Kaitlynn Taft opened the top of the seventh with a double to left field and advanced to third on a groundout. A wild pitch in the next at bat allowed Taft to score to cut the lead to one, 3-2. Down to their final out after a second groundout, the Bucs rallied. Stapay singled up the middle and was replaced on the basepaths by
Zoe Landolt.
Mackenzie Shawback stepped into the box and drew a pinch hit walk to put the tying run on second.
Alyssa Morris reentered the game for Shawback as the winning run at first base.
Amanda Langford came up clutch tagging a ball up the middle that had Landolt crossing home. A Viking miscue during the play allowed Morris to come all the way around from first to score and give Beloit the lead 4-3.
Maddy Pfortmiller and the Buc defense secured the win with a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh with a line out, a strike out and a fly out for the win.
Stapay was 2-3 at the plate to lead the Buc offense. Pfortmiller picked up her seventh win of the season in the circle scattering nine hits across the complete game while striking out nine.
Taft got the Bucs on the board with a three-run blast down the left field line in the top of the first to give Beloit an early lead. By the fifth, the Bucs found themselves trailing by three once again after Lawrence tallied a run in the first, three in the third and two more in the fourth. However, Beloit was up to the challenge.
Following a scoreless fifth, the Buc bats came back to life. With one out and a runner on first, Stapay doubled to right field to put two runners in scoring position. Maddie Moster,
Cora Aubert and
Mackenzie Shawback notched back-to-back-to-back singles to bring in four runs and reclaim the lead 7-6.
A hit batter, single, Buc miscue and a sacrifice fly from the Lawrence offense in the bottom of the sixth had the Vikings back on top 8-7 with Beloit down to their last at bats.
Anyone watching likely had a sense of deja vu as the Bucs not only were down to their final at bats, but after the Vikings captured the first two outs of the seventh, they had just one out to work with. Taft took one for the team and advanced to second on a wild pitch to keep the Bucs alive. Stapay drew a walk bringing Moser to the plate. The sophomore found some green in right field to bring Taft in to score and knot the game 8-8. With runners on the corners after Moser's single, the Vikings walked Aubert to load the bases. A wild pitch had Stapay dashing home for the go-ahead run.
Pfortmiller got the first two Vikings via strikeout and a groundout. Lawrence added to the drama with a two-out triple to right center. The Buc defense held as
Briana Arteaga made a good catch snagging a pop up in the grass in shallow right field to secure the win.
Arteaga and Moser each went 3-4 at the dish. Shawback and Moser combined for four runs batted in while Taft had three on the long ball.
Pfortmiller picked up the win with two innings of relief work. In her second win of the day, the junior righty allowed three hits while striking out one to move to 8-2 on the season.
