By Broderick P. Frye,
Asst. Sports Information Director
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball put up a dominating performance in the NCAA DIII Baseball Region Game on their way to a 20-3 victory over California Lutheran. The Warhawks controlled both the offensive and defensive sides to advance to the Regional Championship.
The Warhawks only needed three pitches to get three runs on the board to start the game. As the designated away team, the Warhawks started off the top of the inning with a single from both Aaron Holland (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) and Matt Scolan (Downers Grove, Ill./South). Only one pitch after those two singles, Eli Frank (Bayport, Wis./Bay Port) cleared them off with a three shot home run.
Another huge offensive inning resulted in five more runs for the Warhawks. Scolan hit a solo home run in that inning as the Warhawks went up 8-0.
It took Cal Lutheran till the 6th inning to put a stop to the Warhawks offense. The Warhawks gathered two or more runs in the first five innings to build a healthy 16-1 lead heading into the final stretch of the game.
UWW was also getting it done on defense, only allowing 5 hits and one run throughout the first six innings. Michael Hilker Jr. (Yorkville, Ill./York) led the way on the mound, fanning 9 batters in his 6.0 innings pitched.
The Warhawks added four more to the lead in the top of the 8th with a 3-run homer from Andy Thies (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles). Cal Lutheran managed to score two runs in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the offensive onslaught of the Warhawks.
In the 20-3 win, Scolan led UWW at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two singles, a double, and a home run. Frank & Thies each had four RBIs each, with Holland tallying three. Scolan, Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran), and Danny Hopper (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) had two each.
The Warhawks will now advance on the Regional Championship against Centre College, which picked up a thrilling 7-6 victory over California Lutheran in the night cap on Saturday.
The first game is set to begin at 11 AM, with a second possible game coming after if Centre wins the first. UWW will only need to win one to be crowned the Regional Champions.
