CLERMONT, Fla. – The No. 10 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team started its 2018 season Thursday against two traditional powers from Massachusetts, falling in back-to-back games at the NTC Softball Complex on the first day of the team's spring break trip.
 
The Warhawks (0-2 overall) were downed by Tufts, which won three straight national championships from 2013-15, by a 10-3 score. They continued the day against fourth-ranked Williams (Mass.), falling 8-5.
 
Against Williams (8-0), UW-Whitewater rallied from a three-run deficit to tie the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Ephs responded with three in the top of the sixth and held the lead for the remainder of the contest.
 
Senior left fielder Mallory Klotz (New Berlin, Wis./West) and junior centerfielder Caitlin Catino (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) tallied two hits apiece to lead the Warhawk offense.
 
Freshman pitcher Sarah Hutchinson (Twin Lakes, Wis./Wilmot Union) was dealt the loss, pitching 2 1/3 innings in relief of junior Julia Camardo (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove), who tossed the first three frames. Freshman Makena Creekmore (Beach Park, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) finished the game with 1 2/3 shutout innings.
 
UW-Whitewater got on the board in the bottom of the first, taking advantage of a pair of Williams errors to take a 2-0 advantage. The Ephs responded with five runs in the top of the third inning on a pair of home runs to take a three-run lead.
 
Freshman Kaleigh O'Brien (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) recorded a two-out, pinch-hit double, a scorching line drive to deep left field, to bring the Warhawks within 5-4. Klotz tied the game in the fifth with a run-scoring single to plate Catino, who led off the frame with a triple.
 
The Ephs registered three straight run-scoring hits in the sixth to take the lead for good.
 
In the season opener, Tufts (8-2) posted eight runs over the first three innings, and UW-Whitewater was unable to dig out of the early deficit.
 
Sophomore Bella Matthias (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield) took the loss, pitching the first 2 1/3 innings. Sophomore Dani Biesiada (Lisle, Ill./Naperville North) tossed the final 3 2/3 innings in relief.
 
Klotz and Catino totaled two hits apiece. Klotz knocked in one run in the third with a two-out single, and added a two-run homer in the fifth, bringing home Catino each time.
 
The Warhawks look to rebound Friday in Clermont against New Paltz (N.Y.) at 8 a.m. Central Time and Plymouth State (N.H.) at 10:30 a.m.