Softball | 5/3/2015 10:33:00 AM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Freshman Callie Looft had 20 at bats and two hits all season but none had the magnitude of when she came up to bat with two runners on base and two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning against UW-Oshkosh. She came through with a walk off single to move the Falcons onto the WIAC tournament championship game.

After the 3-2 victory over Oshkosh, UWRF was attempting to be the first ever No. 6 seed to win the WIAC tournament championship but fell 4-0 to the UW-Whitewater Warhawks.

First Game- UWRF 3, Oshkosh 2

Oshkosh started the first inning getting their first two batters on base but the Falcons were able to get out of the inning without giving up a run. The Titans defense only allowed one run in their first two WIAC tourney games and showed that right away just giving up one hit and getting three quick outs in the bottom of the first.

Brooke Laurtizen was strong on the mound and forced a three up three down for Oshkosh in the top of the second. UWRF put two runners on base but were not able to score a run in the bottom of the second.

Laurtizen kept it going in the third with another three up three down. She finished with eight strikeouts in the game.

Oshkosh got on the board in the top of the fourth off a wild pitch. UWRF looked like they had a strong chance to answer when they got a runner on third but could not convert the tying run.

Lauritzen went back to business in the fifth inning as the Falcons stayed within one. UWRF got two batters on base to start the bottom of the fifth and scored on a crazy play. Aiyana Ledwein reached on a fielders choice as  Oshkosh tried to get pinch runner Toni Lubahn out at home but the catcher could not handle the ball as a sliding Lubahn scored the games tying run. On the same play the catcher attempted to throw to third but misfired sending Amber O'Connell home. The Falcons went up 2-1 after five innings.

More craziness ensued in the top of the sixth. After Oshkosh got their first runner on base they put on a sacrifice bunt. UWRF got the sacrifice hitter out and almost got the runner that was already on base out at third after she got caught in a pickle but she made it to third safely. That runner would go on to score later in the inning to tie the game 2-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth.

Oshkosh settled back down in the bottom of the sixth only giving up one hit and allowing no runs to keep it tied going into the seventh.

After allowing a hit to the first batter UWRF got out of the top of the seventh without giving up a run. In the bottom of the inning pinch hitter Maddie Studnicka was walked. Sarah Sorensen came in to run and was moved to second off a sac bunt from O'Connell but Oshkosh was able to get the next two outs to bring the game to extra innings.

UWRF got out of the top of the eighth without allowing a run and came up big in the bottom of the inning. Katie Thompson was walked to start the bottom of the eighth and Kaitlyn LePine laid down a sac bunt to move her to second. Lauritzen was walked and Shannan Borchardt reached on a fielders choice with Thompson getting thrown at third. Looft then came up to bat and hit the walk off single to bring in Laurtizen for the win to move onto the WIAC tournament championship game.

Laurtizen went all eight innings on the mound and only gave up one earned run. UWRF finished with six hits in the game and had no players with more than one hit in the game.

Second Game- Whitewater 4, UWRF 0

There were no hits through the first two innings in a pitcher duel between Morris and Kelynn Sporer.

Both teams stayed scoreless through three innings. A nerve racking play happened to start the top of the fourth when a fly ball bounced out of Ali Murray's glove into Lubahn's in right field for the out. Morris got out of a jam later in the inning with the bases loaded the Michelle LaCasse snagged a line drive to third base out of the air for the third out.

The Falcons were still held without a hit through four innings. In the top of the fifth UWW's Devin DuCharme was walked with two outs on the board and stole second. She was brought home when Jo Jablonski hit a single on the next at bat for just the games second hit. Amy Ricci drilled a two shot home run the next at bat to put UWW up 3-0 going into the bottom of the fifth.

Laurtizen got the first hit of the game for UWRF when she hit a single up the middle. On the following at bat Borchardt was hit by a pitch to put two runners on with one out on the board for UWRF but UWW got the next two batters out to stay up by three after five innings.

Neither team scored in the sixth to keep it 3-0 going into the final inning. UWW scored one run in the top of the inning and forced a three up three down to end the game and win the WIAC championship.

UWRF finishes 23-22 on the season. They hit an impressive 41 home runs this season and fell just short of their team goal .300 batting average ending with a .297 team average. Five players all hit over .300 on the season. Thompson led the team in batting average with a .375 and a team high 12 home runs. Morris finished with a .364 and a team high 17 doubles. LePine hit a .347 and had nine homeruns. Borchardt hit a .322 and O'Connell a .319. Laurtizen had a strong season pitching finishing with a 3.18 ERA.

The Falcons graduate four seniors from this year's team in Abbie Morris, Amber O'Connell, Brooke Lauritzen and Kati Stodolka. Coach Faye Perkins is retiring from coaching. Morris finishes a great career both hitting and on the mound and holds the Falcon single season homerun record that she set last year with 13 homers. O'Connell played all four seasons for UWRF behind the plate as a strong catcher, Laurtizen pitched and played first base for UWRF after transferring here her sophomore year and Stodolka played the past two seasons in outfield for the Falcons after transferring her junior season.