The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team opened the 2024 campaign with a pair of wins in The Spring Game in Clermont, Florida Sunday. The Warhawks topped William Paterson 3-2 in the opener and followed with an 8-2 rout of Millikin.
UWW broke the 0-0 stalemate with their first run of the season in the bottom of the fourth against WPU.
JJ Jakosalem (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Buffalo Grove) sparked a flurry of offense with a hard hit up the middle for a two-single.
Claire Kohnle (Tisch Mills, Wis./Kewaunee) followed with a shot through the left side and
Abby Borchardt (Random Lake, Wis./Random Lake) came in to run at second.
Meghan Dunning (Plainfield, Ill./South) lobbed a ball into the Bermuda Triangle in short right field on the line that allowed the speedy Borchardt to score for a 1-0 lead.
William Paterson responded with a pair of runs in the top of the next inning capitalizing on a pair of Warhawk miscues to take the 2-1 lead.
That score held until the bottom of the sixth.
Auburn Roberson (South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North) drew a one-out walk and
Kaitlyn Weidemann (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) singled to right center.
Grace Wickman (Wausaukee, Wis./Peshtigo) fired a shot through the middle to bring in the first run of the frame and
Kiarra Kostroski (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson) plated the second run on a hard single down the left field line.
Brooke Hock (Green Bay, Wis./Preble) sat the WPU batters down in order to pickup her first win of the season.
The Warhawks cameback from a 2-0 deficit against Millikin, plating runs in each of the last four innings to register the win.
Both of the Big Blue's runs came in the bottom of the third courtesy of a pair of hits and a UWW error.
Kostroski reached via a leadoff error and
Grace Wickman (Wausaukee, Wis./Peshtigo) capitalized on the miscue with a single up the middle. After a fielder's choice and a groundout, Roberson put the pressure on the defense and forced another error to pull UWW within one.
Pitcher
Kate Cleveland (DePere, Wis./Ashwaubenon) and the UW-Whitewater defense went three-up, three-down and the Warhawk bats capitalized on the momentum.
Maggie Ward (Downers Grove, Ill./North) knocked a pinch hit single to center then blazed around the bases on a sacrifice bunt from Weidemann. She bolted the third following the bunt forcing an errant throw and slid into home safelty to tie the game 2-2. With two outs, Kostroski tagged a ball that easily cleared the left center wall to give UWW a 3-2 advantage.
Millikin was able to advance a runner to third in the next frame but the Warhawk defense kept the Big Blue off the board the rest of the way. UW-Whitewater added three insurance runs in the top of the sixth bolstered by a Roberson single,
Brooke Mangler (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) double to left center and back-to-back singles from Weidemann and
Bella Eggert (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North).
UWW plated to more in the top of the seventh for the 8-2 final.
Belle Lapacek (Downers Grove, Ill./South) and Roberson tallied hits in the frame.
Cleveland picked up the win after fanning four in four innings of work. Hock picked up the save. In 5.1 shutout innings in the circle across the two-game span, Hock struck out nine and allowed two hits.
Wickman led UWW at the plate going 4-7 with two runs scored and an RBI. Kostroski was 4-8 at the dish with a double, a homer, two RBI and a run scored.
