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CLERMONT, Fla. – The No. 19 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team earned another comeback victory before being edged by one run by a nationally ranked opponent Sunday at the National Training Center Spring Games.
 
The Warhawks (5-1 overall) registered an 8-6 victory over Elmhurst (Ill.) in their first game before falling 1-0 against 16th-ranked St. Catherine (Minn.) in their second.
 
In the opener, UW-Whitewater erased a 5-1 deficit with three runs in the bottom of the third and two in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead for good.
 
In the third, sophomore centerfielder Caitlin Catino (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) doubled to score junior left fielder Mallory Klotz (New Berlin, Wis./West), who walked to lead off the frame. Two batters later, senior first baseman Amy Ricci (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) plated Catino with a base hit and later scored on a run-scoring single by sophomore right fielder Lauren Janczak (Carol Stream, Ill./Bartlett).
 
Ricci knocked a two-out, two-run double in the fourth to put the Warhawks ahead for good. The team added two more in the bottom of the sixth on a two-run single by freshman third baseman Meg Cohrs (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland).
 
The Bluejays (1-2) tallied a run with two outs in the top of the seventh, but freshman pitcher Kylie Hoffman (Spring Green, Wis./River Valley) ended the contest on a strikeout with the tying run at the plate.
 
Hoffman (2-0) relieved sophomore Julia Camardo (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) with one out in the third and finished with a final line of 4 2/3 innings pitched, three hits, two walks, one run and four strikeouts.
 
Five players collected two hits apiece for UW-Whitewater, which knocked 13 hits as a team. Klotz and Catino each posted two hits and combined to score six runs. Ricci finished 2-for-3 with one run and four runs batted in, Cohrs totaled two hits and two RBI and freshman catcher Nicole Neitzel (Verona, Wis./Verona Area) added two hits.
 
In the second game, St. Catherine (8-2) scored one unearned run in the top of the first to take the lead for good.
 
Freshman Bella Matthias (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield) took the tough-luck loss on the mound for the Warhawks, scattering eight hits and one walk over seven innings while striking out six.
 
Senior right fielder Haley Morelli (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) recorded two hits to lead the offense, while Ricci and Cohrs added one hit apiece.
 
UW-Whitewater left runners on base in the first, second and fourth innings, and put two on with two outs in the sixth before the Wildcats escaped the jam with a strikeout.
 
The Warhawks have an off day scheduled for Monday before resuming action Tuesday at 8 a.m. against Buffalo State (N.Y.) and at 10:30 a.m. against Calvin (Mich.).