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The No. 25 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team punched its ticket to the NCAA Regional championship game Sunday with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Coe (Iowa) at van Steenderen Softball Complex.
 
The Warhawks (27-11-1 overall), the lone unbeaten team in the region, will face the winner of Sunday afternoon's Coe/Trine game on Monday at 12 p.m. If UW-Whitewater wins, it advances to next week's Super Regional at a site to be determined. If the team loses, it will play again Monday at 2:30 p.m. in a winner-take-all game for advancement to the Super Regional.
 
After sophomore third baseman Meg Cohrs (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh and senior second baseman Michayla Swanson (Randolph, Wis./Randolph) drew a walk in an eight-pitch at-bat, sophomore catcher Nicole Neitzel (Verona, Wis./Verona Area) provided the game-winning hit, a walkoff single back up the middle to plate Cohrs.
 
The dramatic ending was set up by a complete-game, shutout performance by sophomore Bella Matthias (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield). She improved to 9-4 on the season, allowing only two hits and four walks while striking out three while escaping a bases-loaded jam in the top of the third.
 
Cohrs and senior left fielder Mallory Klotz (New Berlin, Wis./West) registered two hits apiece to lead the offense, and junior first baseman Molly Ethington (Rock Island, Ill./Alleman Catholic) and freshman designated player Vera Pflugradt (Lake Zurich, Ill./Stevenson) each collected one hit.
 
UW-Whitewater out-hit the Kohawks (27-13) by a 7-2 margin in the contest and didn't commit an error for the third consecutive game and the fifth time in six games.