UW-Whitewater dedicated renovated van Steenderen Field Tuesday with a doubleheader sweep of UW-Platteville, winning 10-0 and 9-0 with both games stopped after five innings because of the run differential rule. The Warhawks are ranked seventh and eleventh in the two national polls of NCAA Division III teams.
game one box score
game two box score
photo gallery by Tim Gumz
Jessica Stang (Minnetonka, MN/Minnetonka) didn't ask much of the Warhawk offense. Stang limited Platteville to just one hit, didn't walk a batter, and struck out eight in five innings. No Pioneer reached second base. Stang upped her record to 8-1 and lowered her earned run average below 1.00. She has accumulated 75 strikeouts and just seven walks in 51.1 innings of work this season.
UW-W scored twice in the bottom of the first, giving Stang the only offense she would need. A two out, two run single by Amanda LeBeau (Worth, IL/Richards) brought in the winning runs.
The Warhawks shortened up the game with eight runs in the third, sending twelve batters to the plate. Eight hits, including three doubles, contributed to the outburst. Ashley Smith (Elgin, IL/St. Edward Catholic) and Nicole Bothun (Fort Atkinson/Fort Atkinson) both stroked two run hits in the inning.
Suzanne Gersich (Wadsworth, IL/Warren) led six Whitewater players with more than one hit, going 3x3.
Brittany LeBeau (Worth, IL/Richards), with help from Dianna Frisbie (Juneau/Dodgeland), duplicated Stang's feat in game two. LeBeau went the first four innings, with a single to the second batter she faced the only hit she would allow in four innings. She walked two and struck out four. Frisbie came on in the fifth to strike out the side.
UW-W scored early, and often, to settle the issue in game two. After loading the bases in the first inning without scoring, the Warhawks scored eight runs on five hits, four of them for extra bases, in the second. Lauren Cruz (Des Plaines, IL/Maine West) hit her second home run of the season to bring in three runs and Liz Yucius brought in two more with her second of the year. The home run barrage wasn't over, with Gersich and Amanda LeBeau (Worth, IL/Richards) stroking solo round-trippers in the fourth.
The last time UW-W hit four home runs in a season was April 15 of last year against Illinois Wesleyan University. The Warhawks hit four homers in a game three times last year, when they set the school record with 68.
Despite the one-sided score, Gersich, 2x3, was the only Warhawk with more than one hit.
UW-Whitewater is 16-2 overall and 6-0 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Platteville is 3-15 and 0-4 in league play.
Whitewater will play at UW-Stevens Point Wednesday, and return home to host Illinois Wesleyan University Friday at 3:00 at van Steenderen Field. Van Steenderen Field is located on the north end of campus, north of Williams Center and west of Perkins Stadium. Parking is available in the Perkins Stadium lot.
For additional information: Brenda Volk, UW-W coach
