OSHKOSH, Wis. - The UW-Whitewater softball team split a pair of games in Oshkosh Wednesday. The Warhawks topped the Titans 2-0 in the opener and fell 6-4 in the nightcap to move to 20-6 this season and 9-3 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Right-hander
Bekka Houda (Lisle, IL/Lisle), one of the Warhawks senior tandem on the mound, threw a one-hit gem to open the day in Oshkosh. The Titans' lone hit came with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Houda retired seven UW-Oshkosh batters via strikeout in the complete game win.
On the offensive end, UW-Whitewater was held to just five hits in the pitchers' duel but plated two runs to seal the win. Senior
Deven DuCharme (Hudson/Hudson) drew a leadoff walk in the top of the fourth. She moved into scoring position on an infield groundout in the next at bat. DuCharme came in to score on the only extra base hit of the game, a double off the bat of
Amy Ricci (Gurnee, IL/Warren Township).
In the top of the seventh, senior
Paige Evangelista (Wheaton, IL/North) got things going with a one-out single. Junior
Morgan Parise (Sheboygan/North) made it back-to-back singles with a pinch-hit shot up the middle that the second baseman made a diving stop on but not in time to catch the speedy pinch runner,
Courtney Smith (St. Charles, IL/North), sliding into second. Freshman
Mallory Klotz (New Berlin, Wis./West) registered a two-out single on a flare that landed just inside the right field line to give the Warhawks a 2-0 cushion.
In a tale of two very different games, the UW-Whitewater offense got going right off the bat, pun intended. The Warhawks used a couple of hits, including a three-run homer by
Kelynn Sporer (Chilton/Chilton), and a pair of Titan miscues to register a four-spot in the first frame of game two.
Klotz reached on an error to lead of the inning and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Senior
Jo Jablonski (Palatine, IL/Palatine) singled to center and moved to third on the throw home while Klotz remained at third. DuCharme singled to bring in one and Sporer followed with the round-tripper that sailed over the fence in right field for the 4-0 lead.
UW-Oshkosh cut the margin to three with a single run in the top of the fourth. A big fifth inning led to four runs and gave the Titans a 5-4 lead. UW-O added one more in the next frame.
The Warhawks had an opportunity in the top of the seventh but were unable to plate any runs for the final.
Sporer fell to 8-3 with the loss tossing 4.1 innings. Klotz, DuCharme and Sporer each posted two hits in the game to lead UW-Whitewater at the plate.
UW-Whitewater will host Dubuque Thursday for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. at van Steenderen Field.
