No. 1 Green Bay faces No. 3 Valparaiso in #HLSB Championship Final

Semifinal Results:
No. 1 Green Bay 9, No. 3 Valparaiso 1 (5 Innings)
No. 3 Valparaiso 5, No. 6 UIC 4 (8 Innings)

2014 Horizon League Championship Game -- Saturday, May 10:
1:00 p.m. -- No. 1 Green Bay vs. No. 3 Valparaiso
3:30 p.m. -- Will play if Green Bay loses first game

No. 1 Green Bay 9, No. 3 Valparaiso 1 (5 Innings)
Green Bay brought the bats to life in the bottom of the first inning and continued to push runners across the plate to defeat Valparaiso 9-1 in five innings. Green Bay advances to the Championship game tomorrow afternoon while Valparaiso enters the losers’ bracket to take on UIC.

Hailey Mohrfeld executed the role of lead-off, hitting a double to center field to ignite the Phoenix bats early in the contest. Two batters later, Marissa Michalkiewicz stepped up to the plate to launch a shot over the right center fence putting two runs on the board.

The 2-0 Green Bay lead would not last long as Valparaiso came back in the top of the second inning to score a run of its own. Janelle Bouchard kicked things off for the Crusaders hitting a double to right center followed up by a single from Jessie Marinec. Marinec advanced to second base on a Green Bay fielding error while Bouchard scored from second to notch the first run for the Crusaders.

The Phoenix kept the bats hot in the bottom of the second as Katelyn Huemmer reached base on a single and made her way around the base path to score on a throwing error that resulted from a bunt by Miranda Spangberg.

Green Bay stayed hot the next two innings at the plate with a homerun from Miranda Reinke to kick off the third. The team scored again in the inning on back-to-back singles by Abby Brinkmeier and Huemmer while also taking advantage of a Crusader fielding error.

The bottom of the fourth sealed the victory for Green Bay as the team scored four runs on five hits. Stacey Butts, Kelli Hutchinson, Reinke and Shannon Butts all hit singles in the frame with Brinkmeier hitting a double and a sacrifice fly from Michalkiewicz.

Valparaiso was unable to score in the top of the fifth inning to keep the game going.

Tarah McShane, Marinec and Angie Doerffler all went 1-for-2 for the Crusaders as they were held to just three hits by Green Bay’s Ashley Nannemann.

Taylor Weissenhofer pitched two innings in the circle for Valparaiso giving up four hits, four runs and striking out three. Mollie Lindeman was in relief for the next two innings and gave up seven hits, five runs and fanned one batter.

Nannemann had an impressive outing for the Phoenix only giving up three hits, one run and striking out two batters in five innings of work.

Reinke, Brinkmeier and Huemmer each tallied two hits and Michalkiewicz collected a game-high three RBI for Green Bay in the victory.

No. 3 Valparaiso 5, No. 6 UIC 4 (8 Innings)
In the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs, bases loaded and down a run to UIC, Tarah McShane stepped up to the plate for arguably one of the biggest at-bats of her career. McShane launched a line-drive single into left field for a game-winning two RBI walk-off hit to clinch Valparaiso’s 5-4 victory. The Crusaders advance to the Horizon League Championship game against Green Bay to defend their back-to-back tournament titles.

UIC ends the season with a 16-28 record.

Each team got on the board early with lead-off home runs from UIC’s Natalie Hernandez and Valparaiso’s Katelyn Ranieri. The long-ball marked Hernandez’s third of the Championship and 12th on the season. Ranieri, Co-Horizon League Player of the Year, launched her ninth of the season over the fence.

With the ballgame tied at one, Valparaiso brought in the next run after a lead-off walk by Ranieri who advanced to second on a bunt by Jorgi Caombaris. Two batters later, McShane hit a single to center to bring Renieri around the bases for the RBI.

UIC bounced-back in the top of the fifth inning to score two runs after Courtney Heeley reached first on a throwing error. Paige Peterson then hit a single up the middle to place another runner on the bases before Jacki Fletcher tripled to center field to notch two RBI.

Down 3-2, the Crusaders tied the game in the bottom of the fifth after Amanda Wisniewski singled to left field and scored off of a single from Janelle Bouchard.

The game would remain tied at three through seven innings of regulation play.

UIC scored quickly in extra innings off of a single by Erica Hampton that scored on Heeley’s double to left center to give the Flames a 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the frame.

Valparaiso managed to load the bases off of singles by Angie Doerffler, Taylor Lawson and Wisniewski before McShane stepped up to the plate with two outs. On the first pitch, McShane singled to left field to bring in the tying and game-winning runs to capture the win for the Crusaders.

UIC’s Bridget Boyle allowed five hits, three earned runs and struck out one batter before Alice Fitzpatrick relieved her in the fifth inning with no outs. Fitzpatrick carried the Flames the next four innings giving up six hits, two earned runs and striking out three batters.

Valparaiso’s Mollie Lindeman went 7.2 innings giving up nine hits, four runs but fanned nine batters. Taylor Weissenhofer pitched the last out of the eighth inning and was efficient in getting the out with her one batter faced.

Peterson led the Flames going 3-for-4 at the plate while Heeley went 2-for-4 with a run scored and RBI. Fletcher drove in two UIC runs with her 1-for-4 outing at the plate.

The Crusaders relied on the 2-for-4, three RBI standout performance from McShane for the win, however, Lawson led the team in hits going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Wisniewski notched two hits and a run scored while Ranieri got one hit but crossed the plate two times.