The UW-Platteville Softball team played six games this past week but only walked away with one victory. The team played Cornell April 16 and lost 7-1 in the opener and won the second 2-1. In the second game, sophomore outfielder Brittany Kalscheur and sophomore centerfielder Whitney Foltz both had an RBI to win the game. Freshman pitcher Renee Schuttler allowed only three hits in game two against Cornell.

Photograph by Anthony Bauer
The UW-Platteville softball team honored 1997 shortstop Jenny Walter on Jenny Walter’s Memorial Weekend. Freshman Megan Pozezinski tries to make a play from left field.

Hoping to improve on Friday night, UW-P played UW-Stout in a WIAC doubleheader. The team ended up losing 6-1 in the opener and then 4-2 in the second game. Even though the Pioneers led early with a score of 2-0 and Tera Burr hitting a triple in the third, Stout came back to beat the Pioneers in the sixth inning to end the game with a final score of 4-2.

After four games the two previous days UW-P played again on Saturday losing 16-6 and 11-1 in the two games. The Pioneers played well but every hit seemed to go directly to a UW-River Falls player. The communication was there but the River Falls team just seemed to hit every ball with excellence. With hopes of the lone senior leading the way, senior infielder, Tera Burr played hard scoring the only run for the team in the second game. Burr was recognized Saturday on Senior Day for her career at UW-P.

According to the UW-P Sports Information Web site Burr had 197 hits and a .449 career average to her name. The .449 average is the best in the history of the WIAC. Even with Burr’s motivation to lead the way, the UW-P Softball team lost both games Saturday.

Even though it was Senior Day Saturday, Burr did not want the focus to be her.

“The most important part of this weekend was that it was the Jenny Walter’s Memorial Weekend,” Burr said.

Jenny Walter’s was the starting shortstop for the Pioneers in 1997 when her life was cut short by a drunk driver. Every year UW-P honors her family with the Jenny Walter’s Memorial Weekend. Her parents, Dennis and Arlene Walters, have continued to support the softball program at UW-P. Their support for the program over the last 13 years has been monumental. Each year the UW-P softball team takes the field to honor the fallen member of their team to “Keep the Game Going!”

“We always play to win, but Jenny Walter’s Weekend gives us an extra boost. Unfortunately we came up on the losing end of both games,” Burr said.

UW-P falls to 5-25 overall, 0-12 in the WIAC conference. The team travels for doubleheaders at Loras College Friday, April 24 and UW-Superior Sunday, April 26.