The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team clinched its third consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship Sunday with consecutive victories in a doubleheader at UW-Eau Claire.
The Warhawks (26-10 overall, 11-3 WIAC), who have now won 13 conference championships in their history, will host next week's WIAC Championship tournament as the No. 1 seed.
UW-Whitewater recorded a 3-2 triumph in 13 innings in Sunday's first game, and earned a 4-0 victory in the second contest. The Warhawks were the home team in both games, which were originally scheduled to be played at van Steenderen Softball Complex in Whitewater before being relocated due to anticipated inclement weather.
UW-Whitewater scored in the first and last innings of the opener. Sophomore left fielder
Vera Pflugradt (Lake Zurich, Ill./Stevenson) led off the bottom of the 13th inning with a walkoff homer to centerfield to give the team the win.
Senior pitcher
Julia Camardo (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) improved to 11-6 with the win in relief, tossing the final three innings. She left the bases loaded in the 11th and stranded runners in scoring position in both the 12th and 13th.
Junior
Bella Matthias (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield) pitched the first five innings, allowing only one hit while striking out eight, and junior
Dani Biesiada (Lisle, Ill./Naperville North) plugged the gap between Matthias and Camardo with five shutout innings, surrendering only two hits.
In the first, senior shortstop
Emily Rux (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) posted a run-scoring double to left center to put the team on the board. Senior first baseman
Molly Ethington (Rock Island, Ill./Alleman Catholic) recorded an RBI base hit to right to make it 2-0.
The Blugolds tied the game on a base hit in the top of the fifth, and the two teams exchanged scoreless innings until Pflugradt's blast ended the contest.
Pflugradt registered three of the Warhawks' 10 hits. Senior designated player
Kayla Seymour (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) contributed two hits.
In Game 2, junior pitcher
Bella Matthias (Greenfield, Wis./Greenfield) posted her sixth shutout of the season, improving to 13-2 on the year after allowing only four hits and three walks while striking out 13 in seven innings.
Junior third baseman
Meg Cohrs (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) recorded the first of her two hits in the bottom of the first to put UW-Whitewater on the board. Pflugradt continued her strong day with a run-scoring single down the left field line.
The Warhawks padded their lead in the fifth on RBI singles from Pflugradt and junior first baseman
Nicole Neitzel (Verona, Wis./Verona Area).
Rux finished 3-for-4 with one run scored, and Seymour contributed two hits and one run scored.
UW-Whitewater will face the winner of the UW-La Crosse/UW-Oshkosh game on Friday at 2 p.m. to open the conference tournament.
