Today is Monday, July 22, 2024
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By Angela Kelm|
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
Eastlake, Ohio – The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrapped up the 2024 campaign as the NCAA Division III runners-up after splitting a doubleheader with Misericordia Thursday afternoon in Eastlake, Ohio. The Warhawks forced a decisive third game in the NCAA Division III Championship Series with a high-scoring 16-10 win in game one. Misericordia came back to defeat the Warhawks in game two 10-5.
Championship Thursday was an offensive onslaught – UW-Whitewater was firing on all cylinders in game one while the Cougars took over early in game two. The Warhawks blasted 19 hits including 5 homeruns in the opener. Misericordia outhit UWW 14-11 in game two.
Michael Hilker Jr. got the ball in the first game of the day and the offense had his back from the get-go. Aaron Holland tagged the second ball he saw in the bottom of the first for a 1-0 lead. The Cougars came back to knot the game 1-1 in the top of the second, but the UWW offense was just getting started.
The Warhawks quieted a raucous Cougar fan base with a five-run second. The bottom of the frame saw a pair of RBI singles plate three runs before Eli Frank blistered a two-run blast to give UWW a 6-1 advantage. One of those singles was a hard shot into the right center gap by Matt Scolan. He recorded his 74th RBI of the season on that hit, breaking the UW-Whitewater program record for runs batted in during a season.
Andy Thies registered back-to-back jacks in his next two at bats. His first of the game came on the first pitch of his third inning at bat. In the fifth, he laced a no-doubter that easily cleared a 20-foot-high billboard behind the right center wall to extend the margin to 8-1.
Scolan got in on the long ball action later in the fifth with a three-run four-bagger. UWW added a single run on a groundout in the bottom of the sixth to make it 12-1.
Misericordia chipped away, plating three in the seventh and four in the eighth, mostly off of base knocks, to cut the lead to 12-8.
The Warhawk offense continued to surge and responded in the bottom of the eighth to give UW-Whitewater a cushion heading into the ninth. Dominick McVay plated the first run on a single through the right side. Two batters later, Holland tallied another base hit with a RBI single to right field. Scolan sent a deep fly ball to center for a sacrifice fly in the next at bat to push the lead back to eight, 16-8.
The Cougars were able to bring in two in the ninth, but the Warhawks got out of the jam to force a decisive third game in the best-of-three series.
Thies led the potent offensive effort with a 4-for-4 game at the plate adding four runs scored and a pair of RBI on his two solo homers. Scolan was 4-5 at the dish with a game-high six runs batted in.
Hilker Jr. claimed the win on the mound fanning five while allowing four runs in six innings of work. He capped the 2024 campaign with a 9-2 record. Relievers Sava Dupor, Ethan Wickman, Logan Eisenbarth and Jack Hagen combined to finish out the game for UWW.
Game two was a much different story with a rare 1-2-3 inning against the Warhawk offense sparking the Misericordia faithful in the stands. In the bottom of the first frame, the Cougars capitalized on early free bases before the bats heated up to the tune of seven runs on six hits including four doubles.
Misericordia added two more in the third courtesy of a pair of hits and a UWW miscue for a 9-0 advantage.
UW-Whitewater got on the board in the top of the fourth. Frank opened the inning with a single through the left side. Adam Cootway made it back-to-back base hits with a single to third. Following a fielder’s choice, Thies continued his phenomenal day at the plate with a double to right center that brought in UWW’s first run. Sam Paden plated the second run of the frame on a groundout in the next at bat.
The Cougars pushed their advantage back to eight with a single run in the bottom of the fifth. A leadoff single was followed by a sacrifice bunt and a pair of balks for the score.
The Warhawks cut the margin to five with three runs in the eighth. Cootway and Danny Hopper both scored on throwing errors by the Cougar catcher. Thies came around to score on Paden’s double down the right field line to make the score 10-5.
Cootway bolstered the offense in game two, going 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored. Thies ended his day perfect in the batter’s box adding 2-for-2 in game two to his 4-for-4 in game one.
Cade Berendt suffered the loss to move to 7-2 on the season. Jack Hagen, Max Huseboe, Dupor and Hopper saw time on the mound in relief in the championship game.
Five Warhawks represented UW-Whitewater on the 2024 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship All-Tournament Team. Bennett Frazer, Hopper, Paden, Scolan and Cootway combined for 59 hits including 5 doubles, 1 triple and 7 homeruns. The five added 33 combined runs and 36 runs batted in over the course of the eight-game championship.
The nation’s top offense was on full display at the 2024 championship as the Warhawks belted 95 hits including 29 that went for extra bases. UW-Whitewater blasted 15 homeruns including two five-homer games – both are second-most in championship history. UWW’s seven homeruns in the final three-game series including the five-homer outing in Thursday’s opener are both championship series records.
The 2024 Warhawks tied the program record for wins in a season with a 45-12 record. UW-Whitewater also set program single season records in games played, hits, runs batted in, runs, total bases and strikeouts. The squad won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season title for the 22nd time in program history, the league tournament title for 8th time and were NCAA Division III Regional and Super Regional champions this season.
With the victory in game one, Head Coach John Vodenlich tied the WIAC record for most wins with 728. Coach Vodenlich holds an overall record of 728-229-1 in 21 seasons at the helm for UW-Whitewater.
Game of Streaks, Warhawks unable to overcome 10-0 run from the Cougars
By Broderick Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball fell to Misericordia [PA] in Game 1 of the NCAA DIII Championship Series. The Cougars scored 10 unanswered runs starting in the 2nd inning, and the Warhawks were unable to match. The Cougars picked up the 12-9 victory to take a 1-0 series lead.
The Warhawks struck first, with Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) smashing a ball to left field, scoring the first two runs of the game.
With a 2-0 lead, the Warhawks felt in control, but Misericordia put up a 5-run 2nd inning to take the lead.
After holding the Warhawk offense in check, Misericordia collected another 5-run inning in the bottom of the 4th, taking a 10-2 lead.
The Warhawks ended the 10-0 run with a six run top of 5th. Eli Frank (Bayport, Wis./Bay Port) got things started with a two-run home run. Cootway scored after an Andy Thies (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles) single & Dominik McVay (Mineral Point, Wis./Mineral Point) made it to first on a dropped third strike to keep the inning going.
Bennett Frazer (Oconto, Wis./Oconto) continued the scoring with a sacrifice fly, sending Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) home. Aaron Holland (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) added the final run with a RBI double down the left field line.
Misercordia added another another run to extend the lead back up to three runs. Cootway closed it back down to two with an RBI single in the top of the 8th.
The Cougars added another insurance run, making it three runs or three outs in the top of the ninth for the Warhawks. The Warhawks were unable to get runners on, with Misericordia picking up the 12-9 win.
The Warhawks will look to fight back on Thursday, June 4th. The first game is set to begin at 11:00 AM EDT [10 AM CDT] with a third possible game to follow if the Warhawks win.
By Broderick Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director
Warhawks Advance to 2024 Championship Series with 5-2 Win
Holland’s 8th-inning home run broke up the tie to lead the Warhawks to victory.
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team takes Monday’s game two over Salve Regina, 5-2. With the win, the Warhawks advanced to the NCAA DIII Championship Series against Misericordia. A best of three game series will decide the 2024 DIII Baseball National Champion.
In the game against Salve Regina, a quick three-and-out bottom of the first gave the Warhawks some momentum heading into the second inning. Danny Hopper (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) led the inning off with a double and Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) hit him in two batters latter to open up the scoring for the Warhawks.
The Seahawks tied it back up after a solo home run from Tyler Cannoe. In the top of the third, Bennett Frazer (Oconto, Wis./Oconto) led off with a double, but the Slave Regina defense got out of the inning, stranding him on second.
The Warhawks responded right back defensively, with a three-up-three-down to get out of the third inning.
The Warhawks regained the lead in the top of the fourth, with Paden hitting his second double of the night, scoring Andy Thies (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles). But Salve Regina tied it right back, with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth.
The game remained tied 2-2 for the next three innings, with neither team able to put together a rally. Max Huseboe (Ripon, Wis./Ripon) came in to relief Jack Hagen (San Clemente, Cal./San Clemente) in the bottom of the 7th, taking the Salve Regina side down in order for his first inning.
In the top of the 8th, Aaron Holland (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) got the momentum back on the Warhawks’ side. Holland sent a lead-off homer the opposite way to finally break the tie and putting the Warhawks up 3-2.
After Holland’s homer, the Warhawks tallied three straight singles from Eli Frank (Bayport, Wis./Bay Port), Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran), and Danny Hopper (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) adding another run to their lead.
In response, the Seahawks got a runner on first, but the Warhawk defense kept them off the board. The Warhawks tallied on an insurance run in the Top of the 9th. After video review, Eli Frank (Bayport, Wis./Bay Port) was called safe on a single that scored Frazer, giving UWW a 5-2 lead.
With another 3-run cushion, Salve Regina had three outs left to make up the runs. Logan Eisenbarth (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) came in as the closer for the bottom of the ninth. Eisenbarth fanned the first two batters, but the next two runners made it on base. With two outs and the tying run on the plate, the Dominik McVay (Mineral Point, Wis./Mineral Point) secured the final out, claiming the victory for the Warhawks.
Huseboe earned the win on the mound and Eisenbarth was awarded the save as the Warhawks advance to the NCAA Championship Series for the first time since 2014.
The Warhawks will take on Misericordia in a best of three-game series. Due to weather, the first game, [which was scheduled to be played on Wednesday,] will be on Tuesday, June 4th at 7 PM EDT/6 PM CDT. The second game will remain on Thursday, June 6th at 11 AM EDT/10 AM CDT with the third game to follow if needed.
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