The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team split a pair of games against Lake Forest (Ill.) in a non-conference doubleheader at van Steenderen Softball Complex.
 
The Warhawks (11-6 overall) won the second game of the twin bill by a 14-11 score in a game that was called after five innings due to darkness.
 
The Foresters (9-10) won the opener, 9-8.
 
In the second game, UW-Whitewater broke an 11-11 tie with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. One run scored on a Lake Forest error, and two more came around on a double to left center by sophomore left fielder Mallory Klotz (New Berlin, Wis./West).
 
Junior pitcher Stephanie Waller (Oak Lawn, Ill./Richards) tossed all five innings to improve to 4-2 on the season.
 
Senior second baseman Maggie Hansen (Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs) and junior DP Haley Morelli (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) posted three hits apiece, and freshman shortstop Emily Rux (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) knocked in six runs to lead the offense.
 
Hansen put UW-Whitewater on the board in the bottom of the first with a two-out, run-scoring single up the middle.
 
Rux highlighted a five-run bottom of the second inning with a grand slam, her second homer of the doubleheader. Freshman centerfielder Caitlin Catino (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) also knocked in a run during the frame with a base hit through the left side.
 
The Warhawks added two more in the third as Catino was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Rux hit a run-scoring infield single.
 
After a five-run top of the fourth by Lake Forest tied the game at 8-8, Morelli singled home senior second baseman Maggie Hansen (Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs) for the go-ahead run. Sophomore left fielder Mallory Klotz (New Berlin, Wis./West) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to double the UW-Whitewater advantage, and a Lake Forest error gave the team a three-run lead.
 
The Foresters responded with three in the top of the fifth to tie the contest.
 
In Game 1, the Warhawks erased a three-run deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning in dramatic fashion.
 
With the bases loaded and two outs, Catino worked for eight pitches before hitting her team-leading third home run of the season on the ninth pitch to give UW-Whitewater a 6-5 advantage.
 
After a single to right field by Rux, junior first baseman Amy Ricci (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) laced a two-run homer to center to increase the team's lead to three runs.
 
The Foresters rallied with two outs in the top of the seventh, loading the bases to set up a go-ahead grand slam.
 
Catino, who also homered in the fifth inning, finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored and five runs batted in to lead the Warhawks. Ricci totaled two hits and three RBI.
 
Freshman pitcher Julia Camardo (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) was saddled with the loss, dropping to 5-2 on the year following an eight-strikeout, complete-game performance.
 
UW-Whitewater opens the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season this Friday against UW-Stout. First pitch of the doubleheader at van Steenderen Softball Complex is slated for 1 p.m.