Locked in a scoreless duel through six innings, the bottom fell out in the seventh as UW-Whitewater fell to UW-Eau Claire 6-3 in the first round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference softball Tournament Friday in River Falls, Wisconsin. UW-W, 26-9 and ranked eighth in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III poll, will play league champion UW-River Falls, a 4-1 winner over UW-Oshkosh Friday, at 10:00 Saturday in the double elimination tourney in River Falls.
Before the start of the game UW-Whitewater senior pitcher Jessia Stang was named the WIAC Judy Kruckman Scholar Athlete for Softball. Stang is an accounting major with a 3.68 (out of 4.0) cumulative grade point. She already has WIAC co-Pitcher of the Year (2008) and Pitcher of the Year (2009), and last year was a College Sports Information Directors of America First Team Academic All-District pick (see more complete information posted with the announcement of the all-conference team on Tuesday, May 10 ). Stang's honor gives UW-W a recipient in the last three seasons, following Amanda LeBeau (Worth, IL/Richards) in 2010 and Amy Gahl in 2009.
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Eau Claire's Emma Wishau gave up just two hits to Whitewater in the first six innings -- and UW-W senior lefthander Jessica Stang (Minnetonka, MN/Minnetonka) went one (actually two) better, tossing a no-hitter through the first six frames.
It may have been a defensive play that turned the game around. In the bottom of the sixth Whitewater's Amanda Mertes (Des Plaines, IL/Elk Grove) reached on a throwing error and advanced to second on a ground out. Lauren Rankins (Marengo, IL/Marengo) hit a line drive to right center field that Blugold rightfielder Jenny Hess snagged with a diving catch to keep UW-W from breaking the deadlock with the first run of the game.
Emily Muller led off the top of the seventh for Eau Claire with a walk. Emily Haluska reached on a throwing error, with Muller moving to third. With one out, Hess made another key play, singling in Muller. The next batter walked to load the bases, and Ashley Kenworthy singled to make it 2-0. Sara Baumgartner kept the line moving with a single, and Aleisha Harper singled in two, with the sixth run scoring on a fielder's choice.
Down 6-0 in their last at bat, UW-W came back. Emily Epifanio (Park Ridge, IL/Maine South), the Warhawk cleanup batter, led off with a double. Laura Eichenold (Elmwood Park, IL/Trinity) singled to put runners at first and third and, with one out, Jordyn Gaza (Mundelein, IL/Carmel Catholic) pushed across the first Warhawk run with a single to left. The Whitewater runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch, and Haley Krueger (Beach Park, IL/Waukegan) singled to left center for run number two. A Kate McDonnell (Aurora, IL/West Aurora) sacrifice fly to left made it 6-3, and Mertes singled to put two runners on, and both were in scoring position after a wild pitch, but the rally ended with a strikeout.
Stang, 19-4, took the loss with her complete game four hitter. She walked five and added eight strikeouts to her UW-W career record total. Wishau, 7-3, gave up seven hits, did not allow a walk while striking out three. No Warhawk or Blugold batter had more than one hit.
If Whitewater defeats River Falls Saturday, UW-W would play again at 4:00 against the winner of Saturday's 12:00 matchup between UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse. The winner of the WIAC Tournament earns the league's automatic berth in the NCAA III championship tournament, which begins play May 12 or 13. Other WIAC teams may be considered for at-large berths in the tournament.
For additional information: Brenda Volk, UW-W coach
