The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team returned to the diamond for the first time since May 2019 Thursday, finishing 1-1 in games played at the MMU Collegiate Slugger Series in Peoria, Ill.
 
The Warhawks (1-1 overall) downed Dubuque (Iowa) in their opener by a 7-3 score, then fell 7-1 against Carroll to close the day. Official statistics for the Carroll game will be available Friday.
 
Against Dubuque (0-1), catcher Nikki Mikosz (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling) hit a pair of home runs, including a three-run shot in the third inning, and pitcher Kate Cleveland (DePere, Wis./Ashwaubenon) tossed 6 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts to earn the win in her first collegiate game.
 
Third baseman Meg Cohrs (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) and first baseman Kaleigh O'Brien (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) also knocked in runs for UW-Whitewater, which took the lead for good with five runs in the third inning.
 
After the Spartans took the lead in the first inning, the Warhawks left runners on in the first and second innings before striking in the third. Outfielder Vera Pflugradt (Lake Zurich, Ill./Stevenson) singled with one out, and after a two-out walk by Cohrs, O'Brien doubled to plate Pflugradt and tie the game.
 
One batter later, Mikosz blasted a three-run homer to give UW-W a 4-1 advantage. Krista Sbarra (West Chicago, Ill./St. Charles East), who pinch ran for designated player Kennedy Cox (Janesville, Wis./Craig) after a walk, came around to score on an error to increase the lead to four.
 
Cohrs knocked in another run with a base hit in the fourth, and Mikosz led off the fifth with a solo homer.
 
Dubuque scored twice in the top of the seventh, and with a runner on and two outs, Mallory Hollatz (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) forced a lineout in relief of Cleveland.
 
In the game against Carroll (2-0), the Warhawks fell behind 3-0 in the first inning and were unable to erase the deficit.
 
Shortstop Sophia Kinjerski (Maribel, Wis./Denmark) scored on an error in the top of the second to plate UW-Whitewater's lone run of the contest. The Warhawks were limited to two hits in the contest, including one by Cohrs in the first inning and one by Sbarra in the second.
 
Rhiann Dick (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) started the game for UW-W on the mound, taking the loss in her collegiate debut. Marissa Adams (Le Roy, Ill./Le Roy) and Annie Morelli (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) combined for 2 1/3 shutout innings in relief.
 
UW-Whitewater returns to action March 13 for a doubleheader at Augustana (Ill.) starting at 1 p.m.