Today is Monday, November 25, 2024
By Broderick P. Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team fought from behind in the Regional Championship, coming away with a 6-4 victory after Scolan’s go-ahead home run in the 7th inning put the Warhawks up for good.
As soon as the first pitch came in, the fans at Prucha Field knew they were in for a classic Regional Championship game. The Warhawks and Colonels both went three-and-out in the first inning, with both defenses on full display.
In the second inning, the Warhawks forced another three at-bat inning and capitalized on it, scoring the first run of the game with Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) hitting a sacrifice fly to center field.
Centre recorded two hits in the third inning, but were unable to get any runners around, as the Warhawks held on to their 1-0 lead. The next frame, Centre put the Warhawks in a deficit for the first time all tournament, as a 2-RBI single put the Colonels up 2-1.
Paden recorded yet another RBI in the bottom of the fourth to tie things back up again. But Centre retook the lead after a RBI single and a sacrifice bunt scored two in the top of the 5th.
Centre looked like they had the momentum, holding the two run lead after only facing six Warhawk batters in the bottom of the 5th and 6th inning.
Heading into the bottom of the 7th, the Warhawks looked to get back on the board after two hitless innings. The lead-off Andy Thies (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles) got on base after a walk, and Paden hit his third RBI of the game, sending Thies home and bringing the Warhawks within one.
Daryl Jackson then hit a single of his own, scoring Paden and tying up the game at 4-4. Matt Scolan (Downers Grove, Ill./South) had the final say, as he hit a deep home run to right field, scoring both himself and Jackson for the go-ahead runs.
Scolan knew the ball was going to be gone as soon as it left the park, celebrating with the team down the first base line.
The Colonels only had one base runner in the top of the 8th, and then faced WIAC Newcomer of the Year Jack Hagen (San Clemente, Cal./San Clemente) on the mound in the 9th. Hagen and the Warhawks recorded three straight outs to retire the side and pick up the win in the Regional Championship.
Hagen picked up his first collegiate save and Cade Hansen (New Braunfels, Texas/Smithson Valley) the win on the mound. Hansen pitched 3.0 innings from the 6th thru the 8th and only had two base runners with a hit and a walk.
On offense, Paden was the hot bat, going 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs for the Warhawks. Scolan had two RBIs from his go-ahead homer, and Daryl Jackson picked up one RBI. Andy Thies (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles) drew three walks in the contest.
The Warhawks will await the outcome of the La Crosse, Wis. Regional. UWW will face the advancing team of either UW-La Crosse or Coe College. Times and Locations will be announced on NCAA.com on Monday, May 20th.
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.
By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
Pella, Iowa – The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater softball team capped the 2024 campaign in the third game of NCAA Regional action Friday in Pella, Iowa. The Warhawks fell to Bethel University 3-1 to close 2024 with a 33-10 overall record.
UW-Whitewater opened the scoring in the top of the second. Taylor Koehler blasted her second four-bagger of the season with a deep drive over the wall in center. The Warhawks held the lead and the momentum until Bethel responded with a solo shot of their own in the bottom of the fourth.
The bottom of the fifth saw the winning runs come across the plate as the Royals used four hits to score two more to take the 3-1 lead.
UW-Whitewater had some hard shots off the bat late in the game but couldn’t find any green to get runners on.
Maggie Ward led UWW with a 2-3 game at the plate. Koehler and Meghan Dunning had the other base knocks for the Warhawks in the game.
Maddy Anderson registered the start and went four innings allowing a single run on five hits while fanning three. Brooke Hock suffered the loss to move to 6-3 on the season. Kate Cleveland closed the game allowing just one hit in the final 1.2 innings of work.
The 2024 Warhawks saw the season open with a 13-game win streak. UWW rode a nine-game streak into the NCAA Tournament bolstered by a 4-0 weekend that culminated in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title and automatic bid into NCAA play.
By Broderick P. Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director
Thies with Two Homers as Warhawks open Regionals with a Win
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team opened up the 2024 NCAA DIII Regional with a 9-2 win over Crown College (MN). The Warhawks will advance to play California Lutheran tomorrow at 2:30 PM.
The Warhawks offense got going right away, with a five-run first inning. Eli Frank (Bayport, Wis./Bay Port) batted in the first one to open up the score for UWW. Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) followed it up with a ground-rule double to send in two more. The impressive inning was capped off with a 2-run home for Andy Thies (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles).
The Polars from Crown scored their first run in the top of the third, with a sacrifice fly to center field. Thies answered back with another 2-run homer, putting the Warhawks up 7-1 only three innings in. Thies hit back-to-back home runs in his first two at bats, setting the tone early for the Warhawks.
Crown would go on to score a run in the fifth frame on another sacrifice fly, but once again the Warhawks had another quick response, with Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) hitting in two more runs in the bottom of the fifth.
The Warhawk defense closed out the game, with only three Polars making it on base in the final four innings.
Offensively, Thies tallied four RBIs with his two home runs, Cootway and Paden had two RBIs each with Frank recording one.
Defensively, Max Huseboe (Ripon, Wis./Ripon) picked up the win, his fifth of the season. Huseboe only had six hits in his 7.0 innings on the mound, fanning 9 batters total with no walks.
Logan Kottmeyer (North Aurora, Ill./Kaneland) and Sava Dupor (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) split the final two innings, with neither allowing a hit. Dupor only needed 5 pitches in the top of the ninth to close out the game.
The Warhawks will now prepare to play California Lutheran with a chance for the Regional Championship on the line. The game is set to start at 2:30 PM.
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