The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team opened Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a pair of victories, 10-5 and 9-1 (5 innings), over UW-Stout Saturday at Van Steenderen Complex in Whitewater. The Warhawks improve to 9-7 overall and 2-0 in league play, while the Blue Devils drop to 12-5 overall and 0-2 in the WIAC.

For the first four and a half innings of game one, the teams traded the lead four times before the Warhawks opened the game up with a six-run sixth inning.

Trailing 5-4 entering the bottom of the sixth, Head Coach Brenda Volk inserted Vera Pflugradt (Lake Zurich, Ill./Stevenson) to pinch hit for Michayla Swanson (Randolph, Wis./Randolph) to start the inning. Plugradt singled through the right side to start the rally.

After a Stout pitching change, catcher Nicole Neitzel (Verona, Wis./Verona Area) reached on an error while Pflugradt moved up to third. Neitzel stole second and another Stout error put Megan Schweitzer (Appleton, Wis./East) on first to load the bases. A force out at home in the next at-bat brought Mallory Klotz (New Berlin, Wis./West) to the plate with the bases still full. Klotz ripped a single through the right side of the infield that scored two and gave the Warhawks a 6-5 lead.

Kaiden Jackson (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) followed with a single that scored one more, and Emily Rux (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) did the same but plated two for a 9-5 Warhawk lead.

Mattie Klingenmeyer (Mayville, Wis./Mayville) added a two-out single that scored one more to give the Warhawks to a 10-5 advantage.

That was enough for Bella Matthias (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield) who earned the victory by scattering eight hits and striking out nine to move to 3-4 this season.

Game two started with the Warhawks giving up a run in the top of the first, but the deficit did not last long.

Schweitzer led off the bottom of the first with a bunt single, then stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball. She scored on a Caitlin Catino (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) double to left center before a 2-run homer by Klotz gave UW-W a 3-1 lead.

The Warhawks stretched their lead to 7-1 in the bottom of seventh, highlighted by a pinch hit, RBI single by Molly Ethington (Rock Island, Ill./Alleman Catholic). Klotz also drove in a run in the inning while a pair of Stout errors led to the other two Warhawk runs.

A leadoff homer by Pflugradt to start the bottom of the fifth made it 8-1. Stout collected two quick outs before Klotz reached first on an infield single. Rux followed with a double into the left field corner that scored Klotz and gave the Warhawks a 9-1 advantage and ended the game by virtue of the run-rule.

Julia Camardo (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) pitched all five innings and improved to 5-1 this season after she scattered four hits and struckout six.

Pflugradt finished the day going 4-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored. Rux, Klotz and Klingenmeyer all went 4-for-7 on the day. Klotz added four runs and 5 RBI while Rux scored twice and drove in four.

UW-W will return to action on Wednesday when they host UW-Stevens Point in a doubleheader beginning at 2 pm.