Back-to-Back-to-Back Champions!

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Falcons are champions again! The CUW softball team claimed its third-straight NACC Regular Season title on Sunday night. The 3-2, 14-13 sweep sends CUW to 32-4 on the year and alone atop the NACC at 20-3.

The 32 victories tie the program record for victories in a single season.

This is the fourth regular-season title for the Falcons. CUW took the Lake Michigan Conference title in 2006 and the NACC crown in 2019 and 2021. No awards were given in 2020 due to COVID-19.

The Eagles landed on the scoreboard first with a home run in the third inning of game one.

Junior Claudia Utz became the game one hero when she smacked the ball out of the park down the left-field line to also score senior Kelsey Bollon (Orangeville, Ill.) and junior Sydney Erdmann (Geneva, Ill.).

The Eagles scored another run in the sixth inning but left two in scoring position.

Game one finished in a battle against All-Americans when Taylor Skraba faced senior Followell. Skraba who is viewed as one of the best hitters in the conference popped up to end the game and also had a strikeout.

Followell finished the game with nine strikeouts and only four hits against one of the best offenses in the NACC.

Junior Ashley Zappa (Zion, Ill.) was a perfect three-for-three at the plate. Kelsey Bollon and Claudia Utz both finished with two hits.

The victory clinched a share of the NACC title, but the Falcons wanted more.

Claudia Utz left off where she started in game one when she toasted the ball over the fence in left field in the first inning that also scored Sydney Erdmann.

Ashley Zappa stayed scorching hot when she singled to centerfield to score senior Taylor Kuske (Kaukauna, Wis.).

Junior Gabbi Gaziano (Beloit, Wis.) closed the first inning with a single to center field that safety scored Ashley Zappa and freshman Megan Bloyer (Oregon, Wis.).

The Eagles responded with five runs in the second inning.

Kelsey Bollon leveled the game at five with a double into the gap in left-center field to send home Erdmann.

The Eagles just did not learn their lesson and continued to pitch to Claudia Utz. She made them pay with a two-run blast to right field. The Eagles also hit and walked Utz after the second home run.

The Red and White leapfrogged CUW with five runs in the fifth inning.

The Falcons chipped away at the lead with an infield single from Sydney Erdman in the fifth inning that scored Gabbi Gaziano and a sixth-inning single to left field from Gabbi Gaziano that Megan Bloyer scored on.

Freshman Jess Pozezinski (Lake Villa, Ill.) broke the tie in the sixth inning with a three-run home run to left field that also scored sophomore Madison Wheat (Coweta, Okla.) and Gabbi Gaziano.

The Eagles spoiled the seventh-inning festivities with a three-run shot.

Taylor Kuske put the bow on senior day with a single to left field with the bases loaded in the eighth inning to score Pozezinski.

Sophomore Ashlyn Pagel (Appleton, Wis.) earned her first collegiate victory in the circle. The Falcons' pitching staff finished with four strikeouts against one of the hottest teams in the NACC. Freshman Adrianna Martinez (Chicago, Ill.) led the effort with two strikeouts.

Gabbi Gaziano and Sidney Erdmann feasted in game two with a career-high five-for-five performance at the dish.

Claudia Utz broke the program record for RBI in a single season on Sunday. She now has 50 on the year.

The Falcons finish the regular season on Tuesday at Lakeland. They hold a 13-0 lead heading into the third inning.