The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team was defeated in consecutive games against Wartburg (Iowa) in a doubleheader played Sunday afternoon at TBK Bank Sports Complex in Bettendorf, Iowa.
 
The Warhawks (1-3) fell 9-3 in the first game before being edged 4-3 in the nightcap in a contest that was decided in eight innings. In both games, UW-W out-hit Wartburg, totaling 20 hits in the two games combined.
 
In Game 2, UW-Whitewater led 2-1 entering the bottom of the seventh inning and 3-2 entering the bottom of the eighth, but both times, the Knights (7-1) thwarted UW-W's attempts to close out the game.
 
Catcher Nikki Mikosz (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling) and shortstop Sophia Kinjerski (Maribel, Wis./Denmark) each finished 2-for-4 with one run batted in. Right fielder Vera Pflugradt (Lake Zurich, Ill./Stevenson) also tallied two hits while scoring one run, and Kaleigh O'Brien (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) plated one run.
 
Mallory Hollatz (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) struck out six over seven innings of work. Rhiann Dick (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) was dealt the loss in relief, falling to 0-2 on the year.
 
In the opener, the Warhawks took a 1-0 lead, but Wartburg took the lead for good in the bottom half and extended it throughout the game, plating two in the first and third frames, three in the fourth and two in the sixth.
 
Pitcher Kate Cleveland (DePere, Wis./Ashwaubenon) dropped to 1-1 with the loss, tossing 2 1/3 innings as the starter. Marissa Adams (Le Roy, Ill./Le Roy), Annie Morelli (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) and Kathryn Kinsella (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) combined to finish out the game in relief.
 
Pflugradt and third baseman Meg Cohrs (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) each recorded two hits. Cohrs, O'Brien and left fielder Krista Sbarra (West Chicago, Ill./St. Charles East) registered one RBI apiece.
 
UW-Whitewater returns to action Saturday at Augustana. The non-conference doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in Rock Island, Ill.