La Crosse, WI – In front of 418 fans at Copeland Park, the La Crosse Steam were defeated by the Mankato Habaneros, 11-2.
The Steam starter Alexis Watson (Viterbo) pitched six solid innings, allowing only one earned run.
The Habaneros’ starter Sailor Hall (Kirkwood CC) matched the effort, pitching six innings, conceding two runs, and striking out five.
The Habaneros opened the scoring in the top of the first inning with an RBI ground out by Jessa Snippes (Minnesota) and an RBI single by Brooke Holmes (St. Cloud State).
The Steam responded in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single from Calli Janik (Mount Mercy), bringing home Ashley Wolfe (Oregon State).
In the top of the sixth, the Habaneros added another run when Emma Lee (Trine) singled, and an error allowed Brooke Holmes to score, making it 3-1 in favor of the Habaneros.
The Steam narrowed the gap in the bottom of the sixth with a Grace Frechette (St. Cloud State) RBI fielder’s choice.
The game broke open in the top of the seventh as the Habaneros erupted for eight runs. Key hits included a 2-RBI single by Amity White (South Alabama), RBI singles by Madelyn Birling (Bryant and Stratton), Brooke Holmes, and Joscelyn Bennett (Bryant and Stratton), a 2-RBI double by Indigo Fish (Wisconsin-Superior), and an RBI single by Serena Timmer (Minnesota-Duluth). This offensive surge extended the Habaneros’ lead to 11-2, sealing the victory.
With this loss, the La Crosse Steam fell to a 3-5 record, while the Mankato Habaneros improved to 4-2. The teams will face off again tomorrow at Copeland Park in a doubleheader, with the first game set to begin at 5:05 p.m.
