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Whitewater, Wisconsin Regional Web Page
The No. 25 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team will host Benedictine (Ill.) to begin the NCAA Division III Championship at the Whitewater, Wisconsin Regional this Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Coe (Iowa) takes on Trine (Ind.) in the first game of the regional, which is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
The Warhawks enter the national tournament ranked among the top 25 teams in the country. The team enters the weekend on a six-game winning streak, including a 3-0 mark at the WIAC Tournament for the program's sixth straight title and conference-best 10th in program history.
UW-Whitewater, which is making its 21st appearance in the NCAA Tournament, won its 12th WIAC regular season championship, passing UW-Eau Claire for most in conference history, after completing league play at 12-2. The team has now won 32 of the last 34 games against conference opponents.
The Warhawks started the year by splitting, 7-7, in Clermont, Fla., including two victories over fellow NCAA qualifiers Tufts (Mass.) and St. Thomas (Minn.).
UW-Whitewater posted nine victories in its next 10 games, including back-to-back sweeps over WIAC opponents, UW-Stout and UW-Stevens Point.
The Warhawks suffered a 5-4 loss to UW-River Falls, but bounced back and tallied a win over UW-River Falls and two victories over UW-Oshkosh.
UW-Whitewater recorded a loss and a tie at nationally ranked Illinois Wesleyan followed by a loss to UW-Eau Claire, but finished the season with six straight wins to complete an 18-4-1 run through April and May heading into the NCAA Tournament.
After stellar performances in the 2017 season, sophomore
Bella Matthias (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield) and junior
Julia Camardo (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) remain on top of the Warhawks' pitching rotation.
Camardo, the WIAC Pitcher of the Year, enters the NCAA Tournament with an overall season record of 12-5, an earned run average of 1.76 and 102 strikeouts, and Matthias, a fellow first team All-WIAC honoree, enters the tournament with an 8-4 record along with a 2.66 ERA and 90 strikeouts.
Sophomore
Dani Biesiada (Lisle, Ill./Naperville North) enters Friday's game with nine appearances, including eight in relief. She owns a 1.81 ERA in 27 innings of work. Freshman
Makena Creekmore (Beach Park, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) has a 1.75 ERA in 16 innings over eight appearances.
Freshman utility player
Vera Pflugradt (Lake Zurich, Ill./Stevenson), the WIAC Position Player of the Year, leads UW-Whitewater at the plate with an average of .392, which is good for sixth in the conference, and 31 hits on the year, including two home runs.
Senior outfielder
Mallory Klotz (New Berlin, Wis./West) follows Pflugradt with an average of .353 with team highs in hits (41) and runs batted in (32). The honorable mention all-conference selection also leads the team with four homers.
Sophomore utility player
Megan Schweitzer (Appleton, Wis./East) owns an average of .352 and paces the team with 27 stolen bases. Senior outfielder
Caitlin Catino (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove), a first team all-league pick, is batting .337 with team highs in doubles (11) and triples (4) to go along with 16 stolen bases. Junior third baseman
Emily Rux (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) enters the national tournament with an average of .267 to go along with 24 RBI.
Senior second baseman
Michayla Swanson (Randolph, Wis./Randolph) is batting .311, and freshman outfielder
Kaiden Jackson (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) has emerged during the second half of the season for the Warhawks with a .364 average to go along with seven stolen bases.
Junior first baseman
Molly Ethington (Rock Island, Ill./Alleman Catholic) holds a .346 average and enters Friday's game with three consecutive two-hit games. Junior shortstop
Kelly Berglund (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) is batting .271 with 11 runs scored.
Benedictine ( is an automatic qualifier after clinching the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference tournament title for its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in the last eight years. The Eagles advanced to the super regional round back in 2016, when they were bested in three games at Emory (Ga.).
Becky Karlinski leads the pitching staff with a season record of 23-7 and was a first team All-NACC selection. Fellow first team all-conference picks Courtney Grasz (.435 BA, 37 RBI), Jenna Boyajian (.396 BA, 16 2B, 9 HR, 54 RBI) and Emily Chitwood (.455 BA, 8 HR, 29 BB) lead the offense.
The Warhawks own a 29-11 advantage in the all-time series against the Eagles, with the last meeting coming on March 22, 2017, in Clermont, Fla. UW-Whitewater won that contest by a 7-3 score.
The Warhawks have faced Trine once in program history, falling against the Thunder 6-3 at last year's NCAA Regional in Whitewater. The team is 3-2 against Coe, most recently splitting against the Kohawks in a regular season doubleheader on April 9, 2017, at van Steenderen Softball Complex.
See below for a complete schedule of the weekend.
Saturday, May 12:
Game 1 – Coe (H) vs. Trine (A), 10:30 a.m.
Game 2 – UW-Whitewater (H) vs. Benedictine (A), TBD
Game 3 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, TBD
Game 4 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, TBD
Sunday, May 13:
Game 5 – Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 3, TBD
Game 6 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5, TBD
Monday, May 14:
Game 7 (if necessary) – Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 6, TBD
