UW-Whitewater softball faced Rockford at home in a double header Thursday, April 25. The Warhawks would jump out to a quick start in game one. Grace Wickman would single down the line and bring in Bella Eggert to make the lead 1-0 in the third. The Warhawks would keep the scoring going with a Maggie Ward triple to bring in two to make it 3-0 at the end of the third.

Rockford would fight back scoring a run in the fourth with an RBI single but would fail to score any more. Whitewater’s pitching staff would shut down Rockford the rest of the way with Brooke Hock picking up the save.

With this win Brenda Volk recorded her 750th win and moved up to 19th all time in NCAA Division III history for career wins.

“It’s cool, I give a lot of credit to my staff and all the kids who have helped out in my last 26 years. It’s a team effort I get the accolades but it’s a team effort,” says Volk.

Whitewater got out to another quick start in game two. With two outs in the second Claire Kohnle doubled to extend the inning. The next at bat Auburn Roberson would drive her in to take a 1-0 lead. They would continue to add on to the lead in the third with an RBI double from both Kiarra Kostroski and Taylor Koehler.

Rockford would score in the fourth to make it a two run game but the Warhawk offense stayed hot and added three runs including a Kohnle leadoff home run. Rockford added three in the fifth to make it a 6-4 game. They would add another in the sixth to make it a one run game but once again the offense came back alive for the Warhawks and added four runs of their own to make it a 10-5 game.

Down to their last three outs Rockford would add one more but Brooke Hock would pick up her second save of the day and sixth of the season to beat Rockford 10-6. 

With this save Hock breaks the record for most saves in Warhawk program history.

“I’ve been pitching for a while coming into this type of situation. I know what I need to do and I trust the girls behind me to do their job. I think it helps me stay calm in these situations,” says Hock. 

The Warhawks ended their week losing both games to UW-La Crosse to fall to 6-4 in WIAC play. They will wrap up their regular season with a double header against UW-Stevens Point, UW-River Falls and Carthage. The WIAC tournament begins May 9 and will be hosted by the No. 1 seed.