APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University softball team swept a Midwest Conference doubleheader from Ripon College on Wednesday at Whiting Field.
Lawrence won the opener 4-2 and rallied to take the nightcap 5-3.
In the first game, Lawrence’s Anna Wawiorka went 3-for-3 with two runs batted in and two runs scored. Wawiorka fell a single short of the cycle as she collected a home run, a triple and a double. Cory Paquette went 2-for-2 and drove in a run for Lawrence (14-8, 5-3 MWC).
Kara Vance went the distance to pick up the win. She allowed seven hits, struck out two and didn’t walk a batter.
Ripon (7-20, 4-7) scored in the top of the first for a 1-0 lead, but Lawrence tied it in the bottom half of the inning when Wawiorka tripled to score Tierney Duffy.
The Vikings grabbed the lead with a run in the second when Paquette doubled to score Alex Chiodo for a 2-1 edge. Lawrence made it 3-1 in the third when Wawiorka doubled and scored on Sam Belletini’s single.
Lawrence made it 4-1 in the fifth when Wawiorka led off the inning with a homer. Ripon cut the lead to 4-2 with a run in the sixth, but avoided further damage when Savanna Marsicek threw out Cassie Bilotto trying to stretch a single into a double.
In the nightcap, Lawrence rallied for three runs in the bottom of the sixth to complete the sweep.
Amanda Jaskolski went 2-for-3 and drove in a pair of runs for the Vikings. Chiodo also went 2-for-3 for Lawrence.
Liz Barthels worked six innings, allowing six hits, to pick up the win. Vance worked a 1-2-3 seventh to pick up her first save of the season.
Lawrence led 2-1 before Ripon scored a pair of unearned runs in the top of the sixth. The Vikings came right to retake the lead in the bottom half of the inning.
Duffy started the rally with an infield single off Ashley Gnacinski, who pitched both games for the Red Hawks. After a sacrifice bunt and a fly out, Lawrence picked up multiple clutch two-out hits. Taylor Dodson doubled to score Duffy and tie the game at 3-3. Chiodo followed with a double to score pinch-runner Rheya Upadhyaya and put the Vikings up 4-3. Paquette followed with a single to score Chiodo and Lawrence led 5-3.
Gnacinski went 3-for-3 and scored two runs to pace Ripon in the nightcap. Korrine Peterson had a pair of hits in the opener for the Red Hawks.