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Box Score
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (May 12, 2011)-- A walkoff single in the bottom of the seventh inning provided the decisive score as the North Central College softball team suffered a 2-1 setback to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament on Thursday afternoon at Gelein Field.
The fifth-seeded Cardinals (26-13) return to the diamond on Friday at 11 a.m., taking on eighth-seeded College of Saint Scholastica in an elimination game.
"You have to come back knowing that from here on in, there is a little bit more added pressure on each person. But at the same time you can use that as a positive and build some momentum," said Head Coach Jim Kulawiak, who is making his ninth NCAA Regional appearance at the helm for North Central.
The fourth-seeded Eagles (28-14) drew first blood in the bottom of the first inning, plating an unearned run on a two-out RBI single up the middle by Katie Pietrowiak, scoring Jenna Ahnen, who led off the frame with a base hit to center field.
The Cardinals manufactured a run in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game at one apiece. Vlasta Mangia led off the frame by legging out an infield single, advancing to second after Mary Caron layed down a sacrifice bunt. Mangia moved to third on a passed ball before scoring on an RBI single to left field by Taylor Ryan.
The game remained deadlocked until the bottom of the seventh inning with Kelsey Golackson belting a single up the middle, scoring Ahnen.
Taylor Ryan accounted for three of the Cardinals' six hits, making her regional debut with a three-for-three effort, belting a pair of doubles and driving in a run.
"Except for Taylor and (Lauren) Schramm we didn't hit the ball that well, which was disappointing especially coming off the big offensive explosion last week," said Kulawiak.
Vlasta Mangia (12-6) suffered the loss, tossing 6 2/3 innings and allowing one earned run while striking out three and issuing no walks. UWL's Lauren Beres (14-10) earned the complete game victory, striking out three and allowing no earned runs.
"Mangia's been very consistent for us this year. You can't fault her in the first inning with the unearned run and in the last inning we made a nice effort for the ball, its unfortunate the throw was a little late," said Kulawiak.
