Waldorf falls to Viterbo, No. 16 Dickinson State in NSAA matchups

By Matt Oliver 

LA CROSSE, Wisconsin – The Waldorf University softball team fell short in losses to Viterbo University and Dickinson State University during Saturday’s North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) matchups.

Viterbo (10-41, 3-18) pulled away for a 10-7 win in the opener. Dickinson State (39-8, 18-2), which is ranked No. 16 in the latest National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) poll, rolled to an 11-1 win over Waldorf (15-27, 8-14) in five innings during the second contest.

Sophomore Taylor Bell collected a pair of singles and Trista Bures crushed a three-run home run to lead the Warriors in Game 1. Jessica Abrahamson added a solo homer and two runs scored. Senior Andrea Hartmann provided a double while sophomore Hattie Hupke and junior Ashton May contributed singles.

The V-Hawks pounded out 18 hits. Anna Lensmire keyed Viterbo, going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs. Kirsten Tomlinson went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and a double. Sarah Obert also finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and drove in a run. Lauren Davis cracked a double, turning in a 2-for-4 performance with three RBIs. Bailey Thur produced two hits, including an RBI double. Moira Collins finished with two hits, belting a two-run single. Kennedy Tebo also had two hits.

Thur (2-3) secured the win while closing out the final three innings. She issued a walk and allowed three runs (one earned) on two hits.

Obert started inside the pitcher’s circle for the V-Hawks. She gave up one run on two hits in two innings. Caitlyn Kozik struck out a batter, walked one and relinquished three runs (two earned) on three hits in a two-inning relief appearance.

Waldorf sophomore Briley Sullivan (4-4) was hit with the loss. She notched two strikeouts and yielded four runs on six hits in the final one and two-thirds innings.

Hartmann started in the circle and recorded a strikeout as she surrendered six runs on 12 hits in four and one-third innings.

Abrahamson went deep with a two-out solo shot in the top of the first inning. The senior from West Bend is tied for first on the team with four homers this season.

Viterbo went on top in the third following an RBI double from Lensmire and a run-scoring single from Davis.

Bures blasted a three-run bomb in the fourth as the Warriors claimed a 4-2 lead. It was the third homer of the season for the junior from Diamond Bar, California.

The V-Hawks answered during their half of the fourth, plating three runs on five hits. Obert singled in a run while Lensmire ripped a two-run double to push Viterbo to a 5-4 advantage.

Bell scored the tying run on a wild pitch in the fifth.

Tomlinson went yard with a solo shot in the fifth to put the V-Hawks back in front for good.

Viterbo pulled away with a four-run sixth. Davis cranked a two-run double, Thur smacked an RBI double and Collins capped the inning with a run-scoring single, boosting the V-Hawks to a 10-5 lead.

Hupke crossed home plate on a passed ball in the seventh, and Abrahamson later scored on a fielding error.

Dickinson State’s Alexzandria Watson, the reigning NAIA Pitcher of the Week, guided the Blue Hawks past the Warriors in Game 2. Watson (19-1) punched out 10 batters, issued one walk and yielded one run as she scattered four hits in the five-inning win.

Hupke paced Waldorf with two hits in the loss to Dickinson State. May added an RBI single, and Hartmann finished with a double.

Brianna Grayson powered the Blue Hawks, going 3-for-4 with a three-run homer and double. McKenzie Kenobbie tallied three hits, including a triple. McKenna Kostelecky doubled, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Samantha Hardwick finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Morgan Glowa turned in two hits, aiding the effort with a triple and run-scoring single. Monique Yslas singled and knocked in two runs while McKennzie Bassett contributed an RBI single in Dickinson State’s 16-hit outburst.

Waldorf senior Maggie Hawley (4-8) was charged with the loss. She struck out two batters, walked one and allowed 11 runs (nine earned) on 16 hits in five innings.

Run-scoring singles from Kostelecky and Bassett put the Blue Hawks in business during the top of the first.

Dickinson State added four runs in the second. Yslas singled in a run, and Grayson delivered a three-run blast to give the Blue Hawks an early 6-0 lead.

Hardwick drove in a run following a third-inning groundout.

Dickinson State built a 10-run advantage with three more runs in the fourth. Kostelecky stroked an RBI double while Glowa and Hardwick added run-scoring singles.

Yslas connected for an RBI sacrifice fly in the fifth.

A fifth-inning single from May brought home Hartmann for Waldorf’s lone run in the game, which came to an end after five innings on account of the eight-run mercy rule.

The Warriors currently sit in sixth place in the NSAA standings and close out the regular season against the same two teams on Sunday at La Crosse. Waldorf takes on Dickinson State at 1 p.m. and faces Viterbo at 3 p.m.