‘Twas the day before Easter, and there were two ball games that were played between UW-Whitewater and UW-Eau Claire at Van Steenderen Softball Complex. The Warhawks took the first game over the Blugolds 4-1, and the Blugolds took game two, winning 3-0.
In game one of the doubleheader, Whitewater started off the scoring with Emma Giese getting hit by a pitch in the first inning, putting the Warhawks up 1-0. In the second inning, Kiarra Kostroski hit an RBI single to put Whitewater up 2-0. An inning later, Claire Kohnle had an RBI single herself and Auburn Roberson reached on error, eventually making the final 4-1.
“I thought we played amazing,” center fielder Bella Eggert said. “I thought maybe we could have stringed the hits together a little bit more, but overall, we had really good energy and we stuck together as a team.”
Josie Hammen, backed by her defense, pitched a masterclass, going 5.1 innings, allowing seven hits, one earned run, no walks and recording two strikeouts. Brooke Hock recorded her fourth save of the year pitching 1.2 innings allowing one hit, no earned runs, no walks and two strikeouts.
“I really think my defense had my back,” Hammen said. “And even if things didn’t go my way, I felt very confident with the people that were behind me, and they really helped me with that game.”
In game two, the Blugolds shut out the Warhawks 3-0. Leading the way for Whitewater in hitting was Eggert, going 2-4 with two singles. Kostroski, Grace Wickman, Giese, and Dani Peshia each went 1-3, with Wickman hitting a double. Warhawks were left on base eight times.
Pitching for the Warhawks was Madi DeBennette, pitching 4.2 innings, allowing eight hits, two earned runs, no walks and striking out two. In relief, Rhiann Dick pitched 0.2 innings allowing one hit, no earned runs, no walks, and Brooke Hock pitched 1.2 innings allowing two hits, one earned run and one walk.
“We put some pressure on them early in that first game,” head coach Brenda Volk said. “If I had to pick anything, we’re just not hitting like we did early in the season. So we’ve got to figure that out. Each person has just figured out what we can do differently and how we can adjust.”
The Warhawks next have a gauntlet of a week with a demanding six-game homestand packed into just five days. They’ll host a doubleheader against UW-Platteville on Tuesday, April 22, followed by another doubleheader the next day against the University of Chicago on Wednesday, April 23. The week wraps up on Saturday, April 26, when UW-La Crosse comes to town.
“I’m actually looking forward to all those games,” Volk said. “Because I think we hit better when we play back-to-back-to-back, like down in Florida. We played 12 games in six days, and we crushed the ball in Florida. So maybe it’ll be good for us to just keep playing back to back.”
