Winners of four in a row, nine of the last ten, and coming home from Florida with a 10-2 record, you could say that UW-Whitewater softball is on a roll.  The Warhawks' spring trip ended Thursday with a pair of shutout wins, blanking Bowdoin College 2-0 and Buffalo State 10-0 in five innings.

Bowdoin game box score

Missed opportunities and clutch pitching summarized the win over Bowdoin.  Bowdoin had a runner on in the first, second and fourth innings, but couldn't advance them.  Whitewater had two runners on in the first and again in the third, but didn't score. 

In the bottom of the fourth Laura Eichenold (Elmwood Park, IL/Trinity) led off with a single, and was sacrificed to second by Samie Seamon (Antioch, IL/Antioch).  Senior rightfielder Haley Krueger (Beach Park, IL/Waukegan) homered to center field for the only two runs of the game.

Only runs, but not the only opportunities.  Bowdoin had two runners on with one out in the fifth, but didn't score, and in the bottom of the fifth Whitewater had a runner thrown out at home, a run in scoring position with one out, and didn't score.  Bowdoin put runners on second and third with no outs in the sixth, but the next three batters went strike out, ground out, strikeout.  In their half of the sixth UW-W had runners on second and third with one out, then struck out and grounded out.  In the top of the seventh Bowdoin put a runner in scoring position with one out, but the game ended with a strike out and a ground out.

Whitewater's Jessica Stang (Minnetonka, MN/Minnetonka) went all seven innings in the picking up her sixth win against one defeat.  Stang scattered six hits, all singles, and walked two.  She struck out twelve, the fourth highest single game total in the UW-W record book (where she also holds the record, 15 versus Ripon College March 19, 2010).  Bowdoin's Kara Nilan gave up ten hits, struck out six and walked just one. 

Buffalo State game box score

In game two Thursday, Amanda Mertes (Des Plaines, IL/Elk Grove) led off the game with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a single and scored on a throwing error for the only run UW-W would need.

The Warhawks added some insurance in the third with a leadoff single from centerfielder Mimi Ramirez (Chicago, IL/Trinity), a triple by third baseman Lauren Rankins (Marengo, IL/Marengo), Rankins coming in on a wild pitch, a double by Eichenold who moved up on an error and came in on a ground out to make it 4-0.

UW-W added a single run in the fourth on three singles, upping the lead to 5-0.

Whitewater ended the game by the run deficit rule with five runs in the fifth.  UW-W combined four singles, two walks and a double to end the game.

Sophomore righty Katie Boyle (Greendale/Thomas More) allowed just four hits and a walk, while striking out five, to raise her record to 2-1 on the mound for the Warhawks.  Ramirez went 3x3 to lead the UW-W offense.

UW-Whitewater, 10-2 and ranked thirteenth in Division III, will play at Carroll University Thursday, March 30.  The Warhawks have a pair of home doubleheaders set for the weekend, hosting UW-Superior Saturday, April 2 and Saint Norbert College Sunday, April 3.  Both twinbills begin at 12:00, and will be played on van Steenderen Field on the north end of the UW-W campus. 

For additional information:  Brenda Volk, UW-W coach