UW-Superior Yellowjackets opened up the Softball season with an 11-2 win over Macalester College in the first game of two on Feb 21. In the first game, sophomore Karen Balabon, senior Zoe Thomson, and freshman Peyton Bennett all had two hits in the first game.
UWS didn’t look back after a four-run first inning led by Thomson’s two RBIs. Senior Ellie Macal wanted in on the fun, and in the second inning, she hit a two-run homerun. UWS stayed hot all game on the bats, and the pitching helped close things out with sophomore Bella Garley and junior Samantha Swartz both pitching 3.0 innings in the win.
Moving onto game two of the day against another Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team, Carleton. UWS’ late-game comeback was led by senior Lily Hanson who singled bringing in senior Kendallyn Kalenberg for a run but that wasn’t enough after Carleton’s six unanswered run stretch from the third to the sixth inning. Freshman Abby Mitchell’s pitching was the bright spot in this loss to Carleton, with five strikeouts through 2.0 innings pitched.
UWS was able to bounce back with another doubleheader on the first of March at the 2025 UW-Oshkosh Invitational. The Yellowjackets collected a pair of wins over Wisconsin Lutheran College and Loras College. In the first game against WLC, Garley pitched a complete game in her first win of the season and added 4 RBIs at the plate. On the offensive side, sophomore Carly Stuckmayer and Balabon led the team with three hits beating WLC by a final score of 9-2.
In game two on the day against Loras, UWS opened and finished all their scoring in the game in the second inning. Those six runs were enough to secure the 6-3 win over Loras, with Swartz picking up her second win of the season with two strikeouts in the game. Bennett led the offense with a single and two RBIs.
Baylee O’Donnell Went 6-6, With Nine RBIs Over Two Games Against UW-Oshkosh and Beloit.
File photo by Harrison Law | UWS Athletics
One day two of the invitational UWS split their two games. In Game one the Yellowjackets were outpaced by UW-Oshkosh 10-1. The lone bright spot on offense was Baylee O’Donnell’s RBI single to put the Yellowjackets on the board. In Game 2 UWS was able to take control over Beloit winning 19-4 behind a 14 run fourth inning. The offense was yet again highlighted by O’Donnell as she launched a grand slam in the fourth inning.
