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2017 WIAC Softball Championship
 
The No. 9 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team used a three-run sixth inning and a stellar pitching performance Saturday morning to defeat 23rd-ranked UW-La Crosse 4-2 on the second day of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Softball Championship Presented by Culver's at van Steenderen Softball Complex.
 
The game's momentum turned when sophomore pitcher Julia Camardo (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) pitched out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the fifth. The right-hander posted back-to-back strikeouts to end the frame and maintain the team's one-run lead.
 
With two outs in the top of the fifth, freshman catcher Nicole Neitzel (Verona, Wis./Verona Area) laced a run-scoring double down the left field line to bring UW-Whitewater's advantage to two runs, and sophomore shortstop Kelly Berglund (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) doubled the lead again with a two-run single up the middle.
 
Camardo (11-2) finished with her sixth complete game of the season and shut down four potential rallies for the Eagles (27-13), stranding 10 base runners. She scattered six hits and struck out seven.
 
With the win, the Warhawks (35-7) advance to Sunday's tournament championship game at 10 a.m. They'll face the winner of whoever remains from UW-La Crosse, UW-Stout and UW-Oshkosh following Saturday's games.
 
Senior right fielder Haley Morelli (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) started the scoring for UW-Whitewater with an RBI single to left in the top of the first.
 
UW-La Crosse left two runners on base in the first inning, two more in the second inning and three in the fifth.
 
The Eagles loaded the bases with one out in the seventh. After a strikeout by Camardo, UW-La Crosse pushed two across on a hit-by-pitch and a walk. Camardo made a diving catch on a short pop-up in front of home plate to end the contest.
 
The win is the Warhawks' 12th in a row and 16th against WIAC opponents this season without a loss.