Friday marked the first day of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship games. UW-Eau Claire was in Whitewater, Wisconsin and were up against UW-River Falls and UW-Whitewater on May 4 and UW-Stevens Point on May 5.

The Blugolds walked away from game one with a win against River Falls, winning 2-1. Eau Claire’s two runs of the game occured early, both happening in the bottom of the first.

Sarah Peka, second-year pitcher, scored the first run of the game thanks to a walk from Tessa Dachel, second-year infielder. The second run for the Blugolds came from Dachel after Katelyn Yute, first-year, managed a single and a Falcon error.

Eau Claire’s strong lead was halved by River Falls in the sixth inning when the Falcons scored their run of the game. For the remainder of the game, the Blugolds practiced effective offence to hold their lead.

After the game Coach Leslie Huntington had some comments about the recent game and the day the team was having on Friday.

“Couple of big RBIs one by Peka and other one by  Yutes,” Coach Huntington said. “It’s a great day here, sun shining and a great day to be a Blugold.”

The next game was not as successful for the Blugolds as they lost to the No. 1 seed Warhawks. Blugolds began the top of the first without scoring.

Neither team scored until the third inning. Whitewater scored five runs throughout the bottom of the inning with the first coming from Kelly Berglund, junior infielder. This caused a chain reaction and the Warhawks got four more innings bringing the score to 5-0.

Blugolds’ offence was successful in holding off another run until the bottom of the fifth when the Warhawks scored two. Eau Claire lost 7-0 and had a lower hit total as well with 3 to Whitewater’s 10. Bri Carter, junior and in/outfielder, and Jessica Heffel, junior and in/out fielder, were the three players who gave the Blugolds their hits for the game.

Saturday’s game saw Blugolds up against the Blue Devils. This game was the final one for Eau Claire as they were out of the tournament after a defeat from Stevens Point, 4-3.

Blugolds came out strong in the bottom of the first inning, giving them a 1-0 lead. The Blue Devils responded with taking the lead in the top of the second inning, scoring two runs. Abbey Place, first year catcher, doubled, allowing Katie Rongstad, second-year in/outfielder, to tie the game in the bottom of the third.

Eau Claire took the lead in the bottom of the fifth with another run from Rongstad. However, the sixth inning was big for Whitewater as they got their last two runs of the game and slid into the lead. Neither team was able to score another run. The final score was 4-3.

The Blugolds regular season ended 21-18 and ended the WIAC tournament with a record of 7-7.