The cold weather has done little to slow down the hot start to the Warhawks’ softball season.
The team (15-3) carried the momentum from its 10-2 start in Florida back home as they swept Carroll University in a doubleheader March 31, 7-0 and 5-2.
UW-Whitewater then went 3-1 over the weekend, splitting with UW-Superior and sweeping St. Norbert at home.
Now, more than a quarter of the way through their games, the ’Hawks continue to prepare for conference play which will lead them to UW-Stevens Point to face the Pointers Thursday, followed by a trip home to face the UW-La Crosse Eagles Saturday.
Both are doubleheaders.
“It’s very important to start off our conference games strong,” senior pitcher Jessica Stang said. “A big goal for our team this year is to forget who we’re playing and just focus on playing up to our potential for every pitch of every game.”
The ’Hawks have had recent success against the Pointers, winning their last six matchups over the past three seasons. A fast conference start is what the ’Hawks want, especially with the revised WIAC tournament rules.
“All of our games are important, but this year if you win conference the WIAC tournament is held at your home field,” senior first baseman Jordyn Gaza said. “Having a home-field advantage would be huge.”
However, before the ’Hawks think about home-field advantage, they will have to defeat the Eagles, who ousted the ’Hawks from the WIAC tournament in the championship game last year.
“La Crosse has always been a good match-up for us,” Gaza said. “In order for us to be successful against them, we just need to jump on them early.”
The ’Hawks are fully capable of doing so with their strong performances at the plate thus far. Led by Amanda Mertes, who leads the team in hits with 25, the team has posted a .347 batting average.
“The team has been really focused,” head coach Brenda Volk said. “So far we’ve hit the ball pretty well.”
It makes no difference who is in the opposing dugout for the ’Hawks.
They have the mindset that they can compete with any team.
“Right now we are really just trying to focus on playing our game and not really worry about who we’re playing,” Volk said.
