So close. Whether the glass is half empty or half full would depend on your outlook, as UW-Whitewater split a pair of squeakers with the University of Chicago, Chicago winning 11-10 and Whitewater taking the second game 8-7, at Stagg Field in Chicago Friday afternoon.
game one box score
game two box score
Game One Notes
UW-Whitewater led 3-0, 6-3 and 7-4 as late as the fifth inning, but a seven run fifth erased those deficits for the University of Chicago.
UW-W senior shortstop Amanda LeBeau (Worth, IL/Richards) doubled in two runs in the first and another scored on a ground out as Chicago helped the Warhawk offense with an error and two wild pitches.
Chicago took two walks, and followed that with Kathleen Duffy's three run homer to tie the game 3-3 at the end of one.
More runs, three again, by UW-W in the top of the second. LeBeau was in the middle of it again, bringing in two with a single to center. The other run in the inning came on a wild pitch. 6-3 Whitewater.
Chicago got within two, 6-4, cobbling together two walks, a throwing error and a single.
UW-W got that run back with pinch runner Emily Muche (Van Dyne/Winnebago Lutheran) scoring on the front half of a double steal in the top of the fifth.
Then the roof collapsed. Seven runs came in on just three hits, with five walks issued a major contributor to the rally. The first three runs of the inning came in on walks, and Julia Schneider's double cleared the bases for three more runs. Chicago led 11-7.
The Warhawks didn't go down quietly, scoring three more in the sixth, with leftfielder Lauren Cruz (Des Plaines, IL/Maine West)'s sacrifice fly scoring one run and catcher Emily Epifanio (Park Ridge, IL/Maine South) bringing in the last two on a double to right center. As seemed to be the case in this game, Chicago contributed an error and a walk to the rally.
Chicago advanced a runner to third in the sixth, and UW-W had one on second with two out in the seventh, but neither team added to their total.
LeBeau led both teams with three hits (3x4) and four RBI's. Whitewater had twelve hits to eight for Chicago, but Warhawk pitchers handed out eleven free passes.
Game Two Notes
Whitewater took the lead in game two with a run in the second courtesy of Shauna Binsfield RBI single.
The Maroons got back in front with four runs in the third, all coming in on Duffy's grand slam.
With one out in the fourth first baseman Jordyn Gaza (Mundelein, IL/Carmel Catholic) stroked her second homer of the season. LeBeau, again, came through with a two run single to knot the game at 4-4.
The Warhawks scored three times in the fifth to retake the lead. Two errors played a role in setting up the runs, with a sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Alli Driscoll (Beloit/F.J. Turner) accounting for the second run and a single by DH Courtney Baldwin (Spring Grove, IL/Richmond-Burton) bringing in the third tally. Whitewater led 7-4.
An error, a wild pitch, a walk and an error, combined with two singles, helped the Maroons score twice to pull within one, 7-6 after five.
UW-W got a reply from, not surprisingly, Amanda LeBeau (Worth, IL/Richards), with her third home run of the season putting Whitewater up 8-6 going in to the bottom of the sixth.
Schneider responded with a home run, to left center, in the bottom of the sixth to make it a one run game again, 8-7 Whitewater.
UC's Schneider, a sophomore, led both teams with three hits (3x4). UW-W's offense got a pair of hits (plus two runs, three runs batted in) from LeBeau, with second baseman #Kate McDonnell contributing two hits and two runs scored.
Freshman righty Sammy Kessler (Northbrook, IL/Glenbrook North) picked her second win of the week, and second win of the season, with four innings of relief.
Misc
UW-W is 10-6 and Chicago, ranked twenty-first in the latest poll, is 12-5-1.
Whitewater will open Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play Wednesday, hosting UW-Oshkosh at van Steenderen Field for a twinbill beginning at 3:00. The diamond is near Perkins Stadium on the north end of campus. Free parking is available in the stadium lot, and there is no admission fee charged.
For additional information: Brenda Volk, UW-W coach
