WAUKESHA, Wis. – The Carroll University softball team went 1-1 in their final non-conference game on Wednesday afternoon against Wisconsin-Whitewater at Kilgour Field.
 
GAME 1
The Pioneers (15-20) pulled ahead midway through the contest and held on in the final inning to take down the No. 23 Warhawks 3-1. Andrea Kuhne's relief pitching gave Carroll the win while Riley Pavelka picked up her first save of the season.
 
Kuhne replaced Breanna Roberts after Roberts opened the game going three innings with one hit allowed. Kuhne went 3.1 innings allowing just two hits and one earned run. Pavelka entered in the top of the seventh with one out and the tying run at bat to get the save. The Pio offense went small ball with speed on the bases, as Bridget Rath, Antoinette Napoli, and Kaitlyn Reed all stole bases. Claudia Spencer provided an RBI in her three at-bats.
 
Carroll had the bases loaded in the bottom of the first to put pressure on the Warhawks but two straight outs left three stranded. Roberts worked her way through the first three innings not allowing a hit, but surrendered her first in the top of the fourth. Kuhne entered with bases loaded and forced a double-play and a flyout to get out of the jam.
 
A leadoff bunt single by Rath began the bottom of the fourth scoring run. Rath eventually stole home in the same play that Napoli stole second. A wild pitch and a groundout RBI by Spencer put Carroll up 3-0.
 
The Warhawks put a runner on with one out in the top of the seventh, and back-to-back singles forced the Pios to make a move at pitcher. Pavelka surrendered one run that was credited to Kuhne, but got the final out to strikeout swinging to give Carroll the win.
 
GAME 2
The Pioneers (15-21) kept it close with the Warhawks but surrendered 14 hits leading to 8 runs in a 2-8 loss in game two. All four Pioneer pitchers entered the game in the loss.
 
Pavelka got the start for Carroll, but Grace Bradley's three earned runs in the fifth inning gave the Warhawks the lead that they never surrendered. Kuhne picked up Bradley and Roberts relieved Kuhne late in the game. Madison Palasz went 2-3 in the game while Lyndsey Rost had two RBI. Abby Curtis' 20^th stolen base of the season reset the Carroll single-season record.
 
Carroll struck first to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. With the bases loaded, Rost reached on a two-out error by first base, letting Napoli score. The Warhawks tied it up in the top of the third with an RBI single through the infield.
 
The top of the fifth was when the Warhawks went on a run, putting up four runs on four hits and one Carroll error. Kuhne got the Pios out of a jam with runners on first and second with one out. A full inning later, Whitewater went up 8-1 on three hits and another error.
 
Spencer began the bottom of the seventh reaching on a fielding error by the shortstop. Rost's fielders' choice to shortstop made Spencer score from third to give Carroll another run at the end of the game.
 
The Pioneers will have one more double-header scheduled against CCIW opponent Millikin on Saturday, April 29 at 1/3 PM.