By Journal Sports Staff

ESCANABA — Marquette pitcher Chelsea Wiggins got a workout in the pitching circle while watching an NCAA Division I-bound pitcher go toe to toe with her on Saturday.

The Redettes split a pair of games at the Escanaba Invitational, defeating Rapid River 7-0 before falling to Marshfield, Wisconsin, 3-2 in 10 innings.

In the loss, neither Wiggins nor University of Alabama-bound Megan Donahue allowed a run in the game’s first eight innings.

It wasn’t until the international rule was invoked to put a runner on second base that there was any scoring.

Marquette tagged Donahue for two runs in the top of the ninth as Hannah Bulinski sacrificed that runner, Madison Carter, to third base and scored on a Kaleigh Duncan single. Duncan then moved around the bases on a passed ball and steal before scoring on Wiggins’ sacrifice fly.

However, Marshfield responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, then pushed across the winning run in the 10th on a throwing error on a bunt with a runner on third.

“The second game, especially, was high pressure all the way with two Division I pitchers out there,” MSHS coach Paul Seibert said. “I thought we had them at 2-0, then a wild pitch scored the tying run in the ninth.

“The Marshfield pitcher was really good. We stepped up to the competition.”

Duncan and Wiggins had Marquette’s only hits in the nightcap as each also walked.

In the opener vs. Rapid River, Wiggins also went the distance, giving her 16 1/3 innings pitched Saturday. Over the two games, she allowed just eight hits and three walks while striking out 26.

The Redettes jumped out on the Rockets early, scoring once in the first and four more times in the second for a 5-0 lead. The big blows in the second were a two-run double by Wiggins and two-run homer by Sofia Vandemende.

Bulinski had three hits, including a double, an RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. Wiggins and Vandemende each finished with two hits.

Marquette returns to action for 4 p.m. home doubleheaders to start this week, playing Escanaba on Monday and Rapid River on Wednesday.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.