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Coming off one of its most remarkable seasons in recent memory, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team looks to continue its positive momentum in 2019 as it begins the new campaign this Friday on the first day of its annual spring trip to Central Florida.
 
After a 7-7 start to the 2018 season, the Warhawks sprinted to the finish to claim their second straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship. The team swept its way to the conference tournament and NCAA Whitewater Regional titles, winning five of the six games by one run.
 
UW-Whitewater won the first game of the NCAA Bloomington (Ill.) Super Regional before eventual national runner-up Illinois Wesleyan claimed the final two games to advance to the championship round.
 
The 2019 Warhawks are selected first in the WIAC preseason poll by the league's head coaches and athletic communications personnel, and are currently ranked No. 11 in Division III by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. The team returns seven of its nine starting position players and three pitchers with significant game experience, and welcome back three reigning or former WIAC Players of the Year in Julia Camardo (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove), Bella Matthias (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield) and Vera Pflugradt (Lake Zurich, Ill./Stevenson).
 
Six-time WIAC Coach of the Year Brenda Volk enters her 21st season at the helm of the program. She owns more than 600 career wins and has led the program to seven WIAC regular season championships, eight conference tournament titles and 12 trips to the NCAA Tournament.
 
UW-Whitewater opens its 12-game schedule at the National Training Center in Clermont, Fla., Friday against Hope (Mich.). The team faces five fellow NCAA Tournament qualifiers from last season during the trip, including Hope, Calvin (Mich.), No. 4 St. Thomas (Minn.), No. 5 MIT (Mass.) and Luther (Iowa).
 
The Warhawks' home opener is scheduled for April 2 against Concordia Wisconsin at van Steenderen Softball Complex. The team opens its conference slate April 4 at UW-Stevens Point.
 
After hosting Alumni Day against Chicago on April 6, UW-Whitewater plays its next four doubleheaders on the road, including one at fellow 2018 NCAA qualifier UW-Oshkosh, before returning home April 17 to host No. 2 Illinois Wesleyan.
 
Following a trip to 2018 NCAA regional qualifier Lake Forest (Ill.), the Warhawks play four of their final five doubleheaders at van Steenderen Softball Complex, including Senior Day on April 27 against UW-La Crosse and their regular season finale April 28 against No. 22 UW-Eau Claire.
 
The WIAC Championship is scheduled for May 3-5 at the top seed. The postseason continues with the NCAA Regionals (May 10-12), NCAA Super Regionals (May 17-18) and the NCAA Championship, which is slated for May 23-28 in Tyler, Texas.
 
See below for a position-by-position look at the 2019 UW-Whitewater softball team.
 
Infield
 
The Warhawks return three players with significant starting experience on the left side of the infield, including seniors Kelly Berglund (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls), Emily Rux (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) and junior Meg Cohrs (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland).
 
Berglund, who can play either middle infield spot, appeared in 32 games with 27 starts at shortstop last season. She batted .262 with 11 runs scored. Rux, a first team All-WIAC honoree as a freshman in 2016, played shortstop and third base last season, posting 11 doubles and 24 runs batted in during 42 games, including 40 starts.
 
Cohrs, a 2017 first team all-conference and all-region honoree, hit .274 last season with eight runs scored and 14 RBIs in 36 games, including 33 starts.
 
Senior Molly Ethington (Rock Island, Ill./Alleman Catholic) and junior Mattie Klingenmeyer (Mayville, Wis./Mayville) return with experience at first base. Ethington stared 24 of her 31 games, batted .348 and was named to the NCAA Whitewater Regional All-Tournament Team. Klingenmeyer played in 34 games, including 19 as a starter, and hit .286 without committing an error all season.
 
Junior Nicole Neitzel (Verona, Wis./Verona Area) is a two-year starter at catcher, tallying a .244 batting average a year ago. Junior Nikki Mikosz (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling), a 2016 honorable mention All-WIAC selection, started 15 games last season.
 
Other returning infielders include sophomores Taylor Briehl (Spring Green, Wis./River Valley) and Kaleigh O'Brien (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge). Briehl played in nine games last season, while O'Brien played in 16 and was primarily used as a pinch hitter.
 
Newcomers: Kennedy Cox (Janesville, Wis./Craig), Fr., C; Megan Schetter (Manitowoc, Wis./Lutheran), Fr., 3B.
 
Outfield
 
Seven outfielders return for UW-Whitewater, including senior Caitlin Catino (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) and sophomore Kaiden Jackson (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg).
 
Catino garnered first team all-conference accolades in 2018 and made a game-saving, over-the-wall catch in the NCAA Regional championship game on a play that appeared on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10. A three-year starter in centerfield, Catino batted .322 with 13 doubles, four triples, 27 runs scored and 17 stolen bases last spring.
 
Jackson emerged late in the season as the Warhawks' primary starter in right field, finishing her rookie campaign with a .323 batting average, 15 runs scored and eight stolen bases in 36 games.
 
Pflugradt, the 2018 WIAC Position Player of the Year who was also named second team all-region by the NFCA, played primarily as the designated player last spring. She hit .372 with 17 RBIs in 36 games, including 26 as a starter.
 
Senior Kayla Seymour (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West), junior Sam Lattner (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township), sophomores Alexis Addante (Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs) and Abby Weinert (Richfield, Wis./Slinger) also return in the outfield. Seymour scored 10 runs in 31 games almost exclusively as a pinch runner, while Lattner played in 12 games, also mostly as a pinch runner. Addante and Weinert each appeared in 17 games.
 
Newcomers: Alexa Blasczyk (Green Bay, Wis./Ashwaubenon), Fr.; Jon'nah Williams (Waukegan, Ill./Lake Forest), Fr.
 
Pitchers
 
Senior Julia Camardo (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) and junior Bella Matthias (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield) headline the Warhawks' pitching staff in 2019.
 
Camardo, the 2018 WIAC Pitcher of the Year and a first team All-Great Lakes Region selection, posted a 14-6 record last season with a 2.04 earned run average and a .216 opponents' batting average in 123 1/3 innings pitched. Camardo registered 116 strikeouts against only 23 walks and was named the NCAA Whitewater Regional Most Outstanding Player.
 
Matthias, the 2017 WIAC Pitcher of the Year, garnered first team all-conference and third team all-region accolades in 2018 after finishing with a 10-5 record with a 2.34 ERA, .213 opponents' batting average and 107 strikeouts in 101 2/3 innings pitched. She tossed a complete-game shutout in UW-Whitewater's NCAA Super Regional win at Illinois Wesleyan.
 
Junior Dani Biesiada (Lisle, Ill./Naperville North) returns after making 10 appearances last season, including nine in relief. She compiled a 1.79 ERA in 27 1/3 innings and recorded the final out for a save in the NCAA Whitewater Regional championship game.
 
Newcomer: Annie Morelli (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein), Fr.