Lakeland College

Lakeland softball finishes spring break trip

Athletics - posted on 3/15/2013

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The Lakeland College softball team got solid pitching in three of the final four games of its spring break trip but picked up just one win in its final two days at the Rebel Spring Games.

The Muskies posted a 10-1 win over Skidmore (N.Y.) College on Thursday for the third win of their trip. Lakeland also added a 9-1 loss to Montclair State (N.J.) University on Thursday and finished with a 2-1 loss to Defiance (Ohio) College and a 1-0 loss to the University of Mount Union (Ohio) on Friday, finishing 3-7 on the trip.

The Muskies (4-9 overall) scored in four of five innings in the win over Skidmore. Ashley Hough (Fr.-Rapid River, Mich.) was 4-for-4 with two runs batted in, Erin Henk (Sr.-Hoopeston, Ill.) was 3-for-3 with three RBIs, and Jenny LaLuzerne (Sr.-Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) added two hits, three RBIs and three runs scored. Henk also pitched a complete game, allowing just two hits and striking out two for her second win of the season.

Lakeland struggled against undefeated Montclair State, which blew the game open with four runs in the third inning and three more in the fourth. Melissa Noll (Fr.-Green Bay, Wis.) took the loss, allowing five runs (all earned) in 2 1/3 innings, while LaLuzerne hit a solo home run for the Muskies' lone hit of the game.

Noll also took a tough loss in Lakeland's first game on Friday, as Defiance hit back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the seventh inning, the latter driving in the winning run. Noll allowed just five hits and two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings, striking out five, but the Muskies were unable to take advantage of eight hits.

LaLuzerne and Heather Haeflinger (Sr.-Shawano, Wis.) both had two hits against the Yellow Jackets, and Elizabeth Zimmerman (So.-Shawano, Wis.) drove in the Muskies' lone run with an RBI double in the top of the fifth for a 1-0 lead. Defiance came back to tie the game in the sixth, before winning in the seventh.

Lakeland wrapped up the trip on a sour note, as Mount Union pitcher Rachel McAninch tossed a no-hitter. McAninch struck out five and walked none, and the Muskies' lone base runner came in the bottom of the second inning when Kathryn Tighe (Fr.-Brownsville, Wis.) reached on an error.

The Purple Raiders (9-2 overall) scored their lone run in the top of the first inning, as Marissa Earl doubled with one out and scored one batter later on Shelby Carmichael's single. Henk shut down Mount Union the rest of the way and was the hard-luck losing pitcher, allowing six hits while striking out five and walking none.

Lakeland begins Northern Athletics Conference play on Wednesday, March 27, when it faces Alverno College on the road in Milwaukee for a doubleheader at 3 p.m.