April 29, 2015 By Andrew Lowe

The 13th-ranked Warhawk softball team won their 10th straight game, clinching a share of the regular season Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title.  The ’Hawks won five of their last six conference games to secure their share of the conference title.

The Warhawks took care of business on the field to win their share of the WIAC regular season title, but the title wasn’t what was on their mind.

“We didn’t think about winning conference, we were just focused on winning one game at a time,” senior Deven DuCharme said. “All year we have said it is not about the result, it is about the process.”

The Warhawks started out its week taking on UW-LaCrosse at home on Thursday, sweeping the doubleheader from the Eagles by final scores of 3-2 and 5-2, respectively.

Senior Paige Evangelista powered the Warhawks’ offense, hitting two home runs, her fifth and six of the season, with one coming in each of the games.

Senior Jo Jablonski hit her ninth homer to put the Warhawks on the board first in game one.

Senior Bekka Houda held the Eagles scoreless from the fourth inning on, holding off UW-LaCrosse and picking up her 12 win of the season.

Freshman Mallory Klotz hit her first collegiate home run in game two of the double header, to put the Warhawks up 3-2, and the ’Hawks held the lead from there.

DuCharme drove in Evangelista in the bottom of the fourth inning to extend the Warhawks lead to 4-2.

The 4-2 lead would be more than enough for senior Kelynn Sporer, as she held the Eagles scoreless after the first inning, securing her 10th win of the season.

The Warhawks took on the Pioneers of UW-Platteville at home on Friday, and dominated them from the first pitch of the series to the last winning both games of the double header by mercy rule, 9-0.

The weather wasn’t ideal for these games, as rain, cold temperatures and wind made for playing conditions tough, but it didn’t distract the Warhawks.

“Everyone was upbeat and excited to be out there despite the weather,” DuCharme said. “I think our attitude gave us the edge in the games.”

The pitching duo of Houda and Sporer finished off regular season conference play with shutouts, finishing with double digit wins.

DuCharme got the ’Hawks on the board first when she crushed a two-run home run that drove in Klotz.

Senior Caitlin Snyder got a hold of a pitch in the fourth inning and hit her third home run of the season, extending the lead to 3-0.

The ’Hawks tacked on six more runs over the course of the game, and put the Pioneers away on a walk-off three-run home run off the bat of sophomore Amy Ricci.

In game two, it was a lot of the same, as the Warhawks ended the game early by the mercy rule winning 9-0.

Ricci got the ’Hawks on the scoreboard first with her second home run of the day, a two-run shot in the bottom of the first inning. Ricci would go on to drive in five of the nine Warhawk runs in game two.

Evangelista hit her third home run in the last four games putting the ’Hawks up 5-0 in the fourth.

Moving forward, the Warhawks are clicking at the right time heading into the postseason.

“We’re ready to win,” DuCharme said. “We have full confidence. We have seen every team in conference, and there isn’t one team we don’t think we can beat.”

The Warhawks have one more regular season game, on Tuesday at Lake Forest College, before starting the WIAC postseason tournament on May 1.