Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 |
Box Score 3 Saturday, May 11
Box Score
photo gallery (courtesy of Crystal Meyer)
UW-Eau Claire evened the season series at 2-2, but it won't feel like that for UW-Whitewater, with a 4-0 win over UW-W in the
Whitewater Regional of the NCAA III tournament at van Steenderen Field Saturday. Eau Claire and Whitewater split a doubleheader in Whitewater April 27, and Whitewater defeated the Blugolds in the WIAC Tournament championship game.
Whitewater's
Katie Boyle (Greendale/Thomas More) and Eau Claire's Emma Wishau were dominant in the first three innings, Boyle allowing no hits and Wishau just one. That changed in the fourth, when Abby Hansen singled and senior first baseman Sarah Fern followed with her third home run of the season to give UW-EC a 2-0 lead. Whitewater loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth, Wishau and the Blugolds wriggled out of trouble. Eau Claire manufactured another pair of runs in the top of the sixth, combining two hits with a hit batter, a passed ball, and a Whitewater error for the 4-0 lead. UW-W had a runner on in the sixth and two on in the seventh, but Wishau preserved the shutout.
Wishau, 10-3, gave up five hits, walked two and struck out two. Whitewater's
Katie Boyle (Greendale/Thomas More), 17-4, went six innings, yielding three earned runs on seven hits, with two walks and three strikeouts.
Bekka Houda (Lisle, IL/Lisle) pitched the scoreless seventh for UW-W. Hansen, a freshman centerfielder, went 3x4 to lead all batters.
UW-Eau Claire, 28-8, will face the winner of Carthage-Illinois Wesleyan at 5:00 Saturday. Whitewater ends the season with a 32-7 record.
Luther College jumped in front. Whitewater closed the gap -- but not all the way in a 5-4 Lutheran win Friday in the NCAA III regional at van Steenderen Field in Whitewater.
Luther's Morgan Franklin led off the bottom of the second with a home run. Three batters later a Warhawk throwing error helped put the Norse in front, 2-0. Luther used three singles and a Warhawk error to build their lead to 4-0 after three innings. Whitewater got on the board with Jo Jablonski's one out home run to center field in the fourth. With two outs in the fifth, UW-W combined a single and a hit batter, along with
Paige Evangelista (Wheaton, IL/North)'s three run homer to pull within 5-4. Whitewater had two runners on in the sixth and seventh, but couldn't push a run across.
Luther Becca Girvan went the distance, giving up six hits and three walks, but striking out ten to blunt the Warhawk attack. Evangelista and Jablonski had two hits each for Whitewater. Luther had four players with two hits, including Margin Franklin, Alise Miller, Miranda McCay, and Kayla Hatting.
Bekka Houda (Lisle, IL/Lisle) went the first 2.2 innings for Whitewater, with Kaite Boyle, 17-3, coming on in the third to finish.
UW-Whitewater, 32-6, will play UW-Eau Claire, 27-8, Saturday at 11:00. It will be the fourth time the WIAC members meet this year, with Whitewater holding a 2-1 edge. Luther, 30-9, will play the winner of that game at 3:00.
Game times for Saturday have changed. Here is the new Saturday schedule:
Game 8: 9:00 am -- North Central vs Illinois Wesleyan
Game 9: 11:00 am --UW-Eau Claire vs. UW-Whitewater
Game 10: 1:00 pm -- Carthage vs. Loser of North Central/Illinois Wesleyan
Game 11: 3:00 pm -- Luther vs. Winner of North Central/Illinois Wesleyan
Game 12: 5:00 pm -- Game 10 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner
Please check uwwsports.com and
UW-Whitewater regional tournament website for the latest on weather or schedule changes!
Thursday, May 9
UW-Whitewater's regional tournament website
Host UW-Whitewater, the top seed in the regional, opened tournament play with a 6-1 win over Finlandia University Thursday at van Steenderen Field. Finlandia started quickly, with freshman rightfielder Kari Jewett leading off with a double, moving to third on a sacrifice and scoring on a ground out to take a 1-0 lead. Junior first baseman
Morgan Krisch (Plainfield, IL/Central)'s two out, two run single in the bottom of the third put Whitewater in front 2-1. The Warhawks played small ball in the fourth, adding a run on just one hit, with the aid of a Finlandia error, two fielder's choice plays, a sacrifice and a ground out. UW-W added three insurance runs in the fifth on a single from sophomore designated hitter
Paige Evangelista (Wheaton, IL/North) and a two run homer from junior rightfielder
Samie Seamon (Antioch, IL/Antioch), her team-leading seventh of the year.
Freshman centerfielder Kristen Rose led Finlandia at the plate, going 2x3 with the run batted in. Krisch, Evangelista and Seamon collected two hits each in Whitewater's nine hit attack. Junior Alyson Herman, 15-5, went 4.2 innings for Finlandia, giving up nine hits and five earned runs, with one walk and no strikeouts. Sophomore Miranda Brewer went the last inning and a third without allowing a hit. For Whitewater, senior righthander
Katie Boyle (Greendale/Thomas More), 17-2, scattered five hits over six innings, allowing one run. She struck out four and walked two. Sophomore
Bekka Houda (Lisle, IL/Lisle) pitched a scoreless seventh.
UW-W, 32-5, will face the winner of the Carthage-Luther game at 2:00 Friday. Finlandia, 25-7, will face the Carthage-Luther loser at 10:00 Friday in the double elimination tournament.
Pre-Tournament Information
The UW-Whitewater softball team will continue their season at home with
National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Tournament regional play beginning Thursday, May 9. The Warhawks earned the automatic berth after winning the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title. For the latest information on the Whitewater Regional please check the
UW-Whitewater Regional Website.
Whitewater Regional Bracket
UW-W, 31-5, is making its sixteenth appearance in the national tournament, and fourth in the last six years. Whitewater will open the regional with a game against eighth seed Finlandia University (25-6) at 10:00. Other matchups in the first round of the regional are Luther College (28-9) and Carthage College (30-10) at 12:00; UW-Eau Claire (26-7) and North Central College (32-10) at 2:00; and Illinois Wesleyan (31-9) and Benedictine University (26-12) will play at 4:00.
Tickets for the regional are $6 for adults and $3 for students for each day. Fifty free student tickets, each day, are available for UW-Whitewater students, compliments of DLK Enterprises. For students to receive free admission they must show a valid UW-Whitewater ID at the entrance to van Steenderen Field.
There are 62 teams that earn entry into the NCAA III Tournament, with eight regional sites hosting games. The Whitewater Regional is one of seven eight-team regionals. Other sites hosting eight teams are Salem (VA), Ithaca (NY), Angola (IN), Babson Park (MA), Tyler (TX), Pella (IA) and Montclair (NJ). Each regional uses a double elimination format.
The eight regional winners will advance to the NCAA III World Series May 17-21 at Carson Park in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
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