St. Louis, Mo. -- The No. 10 UW-Whitewater softball team run-ruled Rhodes College 8-0 in six innings in the first game of the day Sunday. In the second top-20 battle of the weekend, the Warhawks fell to No. 18 Washington University in St. Louis 5-1 in game two.
WashU Recap
The Bears took an early lead courtesy of a three-run homer in the top of the first.
The Warhawks narrowed the gap in the bottom of the third frame.
Kaitlyn Weidemann (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) notched a one-out single to second base. A two-out fielder's choice from
Maggie Ward (Downers Grove, Ill./North) had all runners safe and UWW capitalized.
Grace Grabowy (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) put the ball in play and a Bears' miscue in the infield had Weidemann touching home to make it 3-1.
That score held until the top of the fifth when WashU plated a pair to extend the gap to 5-1.
UW-Whitewater threatened in the bottom of the sixth but the Bears kept the Warhawks from scoring.
Ellery Stoltz (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower), Giese and Weidemann all registered hits in the contest for UWW.
Three Warhawk hurlers saw time in the circle with
Brooke Hock (Green Bay, Wis./Preble) suffering the loss in five innings of work.
Olivia Perez (Bridgeview, Ill./Argo Community) and
Kaitlyn Marsh (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) tossed the sixth and seventh innings respectively.
Rhodes Recap
The UWW offense threatened from the get-go in the opening game Sunday.
Bella Eggert (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) singled to left center to open the top of the first. Back-to-back hit-by-pitches for
Grace Grabowy (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) and
Dani Peshia (Newark, Ill./Newark Community) loaded the bases with one out but the Warhawks couldn't capitalize. Still the offense had momentum that paid dividends in the second.
Taylor Koehler (Wauconda, Ill./Wauconda) opened the top of the second with a triple to center. Two batters later,
Kaitlyn Weidemann (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) drew a walk to put runners on the corners and Eggert drove in the first run on a groundball to short.
Maggie Ward (Downers Grove, Ill./North) sent the first pitch of her at bat sailing over the wall in right center for UW-Whitewater first four-bagger of 2026. Grabowy took another one for the team and swiped second before scoring on Peshia's double to left center for a 4-0 Warhawk lead two innings in.
UW-Whitewater added another run in the fourth as
Emma Giese (Kenosha, Wis./Indian Trail) singled in Eggert. The Warhawks hit the threshold for the run-rule with three runs in the top of the fifth. Koehler drew a leadoff walk before
Keira Jarrett (Evergreen Park, Ill./Mother McAuley) tagged a pinch hit double to left center. Weidemann plated Koehler and pinch runner
Belle Lapacek (Downers Grove, Ill./South).
Natalie Muellner (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) registered a sacrifice fly later in the frame to bring in Weidemann for the 8-0 lead.
Eight Warhawks tallied hits in the contest with Eggert pacing the offense with a 2-3 game in the box. In the circle,
Josie Hammen (Combined Locks, Wis./Kimberly) went the distance to pick up her first win of the season. The junior tossed five innings of shutout ball while striking out four and allowing four hits.
