Related Links:
WIAC Softball Tournament Web Page
 
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team returns to postseason competition this weekend as it plays in the 2022 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament (Presented by Culver's) in La Crosse.
 
The Warhawks (19-17 overall), the No. 4 seed, will face fifth-seeded UW-River Falls Friday at 10 a.m. at UW-La Crosse's North Campus Field. The winner of the game will take on No. 1 seed UW-La Crosse at 2 p.m., while the loser will play in an elimination game at 4 p.m.
 
The winner of the double-elimination tournament will earn the WIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which begins next week.
 
UW-Whitewater earned its spot in the tournament thanks to back-to-back wins at UW-Eau Claire on Tuesday to close the regular season. UW-W clinched its bid with a 6-2 triumph in the first game of the doubleheader after scoring five runs in the top of the fifth inning to back five scoreless innings on the mound from Kate Cleveland (DePere, Wis./Ashwaubenon).
 
The Warhawks have won five of their last seven games heading into the postseason.
 
Left fielder Krista Sbarra (West Chicago, Ill./St. Charles East) and shortstop Meghan Dunning (Plainfield, Ill./South) lead the offense. Sbarra owns a team-high .361 batting average with a team-best seven stolen bases, 19 runs scored and 15 runs batted in, while Dunning begins the tournament with a .347 average and a team-high five home runs.
 
Infielders Delaney Becker (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) and Brooke Mangler (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) and centerfielder Kiarra Kostroski (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson) have also played integral roles offensively. Becker is batting .308 with 11 RBIs, Mangler is hitting .284 with a team-high 20 RBIs and Kostroski owns a team-best 10 extra base hits to go along with her .294 batting average.
 
First baseman Ally Dietz (Lake Villa, Ill./Lakes Community) has started the last nine games and is hitting .304 on the season with eight RBIs. Catcher Kennedy Cox (Janesville, Wis./Craig) is one of two players on the team (Mangler) to have started all 36 games during the regular season and designated player/infielder Sydney Anderson (Delavan, Wis./Delavan-Darien) has knocked in 10 runs and drawn a team-high 15 walks.
 
Third baseman Grace Wickman (Wausaukee, Wis./Peshtigo) and right fielder Sophia Kinjerski (Maribel, Wis./Denmark) have also played as regular starters in 2022. Wickman is tied for fourth on the team with 14 runs scored, while Kinjerski has knocked in 12 runs on the year.
 
UW-Whitewater's starting pitching staff includes Kate Cleveland (DePere, Wis./Ashwaubenon), Rhiann Dick (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) and Mallory Hollatz (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township). Cleveland enters the postseason with a 6-4 record, two saves and a 2.15 earned run average, while Dick is 5-4 with a 2.70 ERA and a team-best 45 strikeouts.
 
Hollatz leads the team with 73 1/3 innings pitched and is 7-8 with two saves and a 3.72 ERA.
 
Annie Morelli (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) and Kathryn Kinsella (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) have combined for 19 relief appearances. Morelli, one of two seniors on the team, picked up her first win of the season in the second game at UW-Eau Claire on Tuesday. Kinsella has one save on the season.
 
The Warhawks were defeated twice by UW-River Falls on April 9 at van Steenderen Softball Complex. Dunning and Mangler hit back-to-back solo homers in the sixth inning of the second game to bring the team within one, and UW-W put the game-tying and game-winning runs on base in the seventh but was unable to complete the comeback.
 
UW-Whitewater last played UW-River Falls in the conference tournament in 2015. The Warhawks defeated the Falcons 4-0 in the championship game.