The No. 13 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team clinched the program's 11th Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship and the third in the last four years Friday with two victories at UW-River Falls in a doubleheader in River Falls, Wis.
 
With the sweep, the Warhawks (31-7 overall, 12-0 WIAC) also extended their win streak to eight games and wrapped up the No. 1 seed and hosting privileges in next week's WIAC Tournament, which begins next Friday.
 
UW-Whitewater downed the Falcons (11-22, 3-9) by an 8-0 score in the opener before tallying an 11-1 triumph in the second game. Both games were called after five innings due to run rule.
 
In Game 1, freshman pitcher Bella Matthias (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield) collected her eighth shutout of the season and sophomore shortstop Kelly Berglund (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) posted two hits, including a home run and a double, and a team-high three runs batted in.
 
Senior first baseman Amy Ricci (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) and sophomore centerfielder Caitlin Catino (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) each tallied two hits, and Ricci, junior second baseman Michayla Swanson (Randolph, Wis./Randolph), sophomore designated player Julia Camardo (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) and freshman third baseman Meg Cohrs (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) each registered one RBI.
 
Matthias (14-3) allowed only two hits and one walk while striking out nine.
 
The Warhawks continued their offensive barrage in the nightcap, recording eight runs in the first inning and three more in the second to cruise to their 12th straight conference victory.
 
Camardo (9-2) allowed only one run and totaled seven strikeouts in four innings to earn the win, and freshman Kylie Hoffman (Spring Green, Wis./River Valley) pitched a 1-2-3 fifth.
 
Cohrs, senior right fielder Haley Morelli (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) and junior left fielder Mallory Klotz (New Berlin, Wis./West) all homered to lead the offense. Klotz and Cohrs finished with three RBI apiece, and Morelli plated two. Swanson, Berglund and freshman designated player Dani Biesiada (Lisle, Ill./Naperville North) each knocked in one run.
 
UW-Whitewater closes the regular season Saturday with a doubleheader at UW-Stout at 3 p.m. The team seeks the WIAC's first perfect regular season league record since 2010 and the program's first since 2009.