Today is Sunday, May 10, 2026
By Broderick Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team made a huge statement to take the 1-0 series lead in the NCAA Division III Final against Messiah University. The Warhawk offense blasted 20 hits en route to an 18-3 win. Ben Lee (Amherst, Wis./Amherst) did his work on the mound, picking up the win in 7.0 innings of work.
The Warhawks took the field first as the designated home team. A 1-2-3 inning was highlighted by a run-down catch in right field from Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville).
Messiah did the same feat, closing down the Warhawk offense in the first inning with their own three-up-three-down inning. But the Warhawks were still the first to strike, with Danny Hopper (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) sending in the first runner with a single.
The Warhawks started to break the game open with four runs in the fourth. Back-to-back singles moved the runners forward, with Hopper scoring off a fielding error. Dominic McVay capped off the inning with a three-run shot to put the Warhawks up 5-0.
Messiah ended the shutout with an RBI single in the top of the 5th. The Warhawks quickly grabbed the run back with Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) hitting a solo shot to lead off the offensive half. Hopper gapped a hit that the left fielder wasn’t able to catch up to, scoring another run to give UWW a 7-1 lead.
Both teams were held scoreless in the 6th, but Messiah added their second run on a solo homer to lead off the 7th inning.
The Warhawks apparently made the most of the 7th-inning stretch, seemingly putting the game away for good with a 9-run frame.
Back-to-back singles for Eli Frank (Bayport, Wis./Bay Port) & Danny Hopper (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) started the ending. Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) scored Frank on an RBI double for the first run of the inning.
Darryl Jackson (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King) drew a five-pitch walk, forcing a mound visit and the first pitching change for the Falcons. McVay had a productive out with a sacrifice fly against the new arm.
Aaron Holland (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) drew a four pitch walk to load the bases, followed by a 2-RBI single from Matt Scolan (Downers Grove, Ill./South) to add another couple runs on the board. A double for Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) scored the 5th run of the inning and drew the next arm out of the bullpen.
Andy Thies (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles) fought at the plate for another walk to get the bases loaded once again. Eli Frank (Bayport, Wis./Bay Port) made the most of it, hitting a Grand Slam to clean the bases off and cap off the crooked inning.
With a 16-2 lead, the Warhawks added another two in the bottom of the 8th for a little extra insurance. Aaron Holland (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) scored an RBI single followed by an RBI-single from Cootway. Befitting of his number, Cootway hit in the 18th Warhawk run of the game.
Down to their final three outs, Messiah added a base runner after a walk. The runner scored after a double from Messiah’s Martinez. The Warhawk defense grabbed the final out in the same play, catching Martinez in a pickle as he tried to push three.
With the 18-3 win, the Warhawks take a 1-0 series lead heading into the second day of the Finals. Game Two will start at 11 am (ET) tomorrow morning.
Editor’s note: Since the Finals is “best of three,” the Warhawks will be the champs if they win game two, which begins at 10 a.m. CDT If, however, the Falcons pull off a win, the decisive third game is scheduled to begin just 45 minutes after the conclusion of game two. The livestream(s) for the game(s) may be found here.
This article which was published on the Banner on June 2 provides background on both teams.
Congratulations to the Whitewater High School Boys’ Golf Team for finishing 2nd at the WIAA Regional Meet hosted by Delavan-Darien at Delbrook Country Club! Their strong showing punches their ticket to the Sectional Meet!
Top Performers:
- Reece Condon – 2nd place, shot a 78
- Devin McKevitt – 5th place, shot an 80
- Archie Briggs – shot an 86
- Anakin Knudson – shot a 96
- Aiden Meyer – shot a 109
The boys will compete in Tuesday’s Sectional Meet at Dodge Point Country Club in Mineral Point, WI.
By Broderick Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director
Warhawks score 12 runs between 7th & 8th innings to propel them into the Championship
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team booked their second consecutive trip the NCAA Division III World Series Final with a dominant 17-4 win over Rowan University. The Warhawks finished the game out strong, scoring 12 runs in their final two innings of offense.
Max Huseboe (Ripon, Wis./Ripon) got the call on the mound and delivered to a 1-2-3 inning to get the game underway. The Warhawk offense got to work right away with a sacrifice fly to grab the first run.
Rowan answered back quickly, scoring two runs in the second to take the lead. The Profs worked on keeping the potent Warhawk offense quiet, tossing two scoreless innings to retain the lead.
Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) hit a hard ball to cause an error and a score to tie the game up in the fourth, but Rowan retook the lead on a sacrifice bunt.
The Warhawk offense hit full stride in the fifth, putting their first crooked number on the board with a 3-run frame. A two-run double from Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) followed by a Paden RBI single put the Warhawks up for good at 5-3.
Rowan closed the gap to just one run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth, but the one run lead didn’t last long for the Warhawks.
Eli Frank (Bayport, Wis./Bay Port) kickstarted another rally, with the Warhawks loading up the bases with one out. Two runs scored on a back-to-back passed ball and wild pitch.
Aaron Holland (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) cleaned off another two runs to put the Warhawks up 9-4 heading into the last two innings.
After a lead-off walk, Ethan Wickman (Spring Green, Wis./River Valley) put the Rowan batters down in order to put the Warhawks three outs away from their second consecutive Finals appearance.
In the 8th, the Warhawks broke the game wide open with an 8-run frame to put the game away.
Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) highlighted the inning with a three-run homer, a sense of deja vu for the right fielder. A year ago today, Paden hit the walk-off home run against Birmingham Southern in the World Series.
A heads-up play by Darryl Jackson (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King) and Dominik McVay (Mineral Point, Wis./Mineral Point) made the most of a wild pitch. Holland, Scolan, and Cootway went back-to-back-to-back RBI hits to cap off the huge inning.
A two-out single would be the only base-runner for the Profs in the Top of the 9th. Brady Malkow (Brodhead, Wis./Brodhead) recorded the last strikeout needed, sending the Warhawks back to the NCAA Division III Championship Series.
The Warhawks will take on Messiah in the final best-of-three series. The first game has been moved up a day due to the forecasted weather. Game one will take place on Tuesday, June 3rd at 2 pm CDT. The second and third games will be on Wednesday, June 4th beginning at 10 am CDT. [The championship is best of three games, so the third game may not be necessary.]
There will be a link to Tuesday’s game here.
Editor’s notes: Messiah’s season record is 39-14. They were the only team that entered the series unranked, and they were considered #8 in Eastlake. In the DIII “World Series” they won the right to play #3 UW-W by beating Johns Hopkins (#1) 16-7, Endicott (#4) 9-5 and Endicott a second time by 8-2. Messiah is located in Mechanicsburg, PA and it has an undergraduate/graduate enrollment of 3320 students. A win for them would be the second consecutive PA team win, as Misericordia beat UW-W for the championship last year. Per d3baseball.com, “Head coach Phill Shallenberger is in his fourth year and will be the least experienced coach in Eastlake. Every other head coach has been with their team a minimum of ten years. Messiah is a top 50 team in slugging (32nd) and ERA (31st). Among all the teams in the Series, they steal bases at a rate to make them third in the nation.” This is Messiah’s first appearance in the DIII “World Series.”
UW-W’s season record is 46-6. They won the right to compete versus #8 Messiah by beating Trinity (TX) (#6) 7-3, Denison (#2) 11-4, and Rowan, (#7) 17-5. Per d3baseball.com, “The Warhawks are the most experienced team this weekend as they make their ninth appearance in program history. Last year, they finished second to Misericordia but is back in 2025 to try to win their third national championship. UW-Whitewater coach John Vodenlich leads the rest of the head coaches combined in the series in championships (2-0) and World Series wins (19). The Warhawks took Player of the Year (Matt Scolan) and Pitcher of the Year (Max Husebee) honors. Ten players in total were placed 2025 All-WIAC baseball teams. Nobody has a better batting average than UWW in D-III baseball and only Johns Hopkins has a higher slugging percentage. With a 11th best ERA and 8th best WHIP, the pitching staff is almost as good as the offense.”
Danny Hopper After 3-Run Homer in 3rd inning Photo credit Molly DeNucci
By Broderick Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team defeated Denison 11-4 to advance to the Pod Final at the NCAA Division III World Series. With their 46th win of the season, the Warhawks set a new record for wins in a season.
The Warhawks got on the board quickly, capitalizing on some misplays by the Denison defense. Andy Thies (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles) brought in the first runner to give the Warhawks a quick 1-0 lead in the first.
Denison kept the Warhawks off the base in the next inning, but UWW didn’t stay quiet for long with a four-run third inning.
Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) hit his 20th home run of the season to start the inning. The senior broke the single season Warhawk record, held since 2008 by Kevin Zalnis. Danny Hopper (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) added the next three runs with his own jack, putting the Warhawks up 5-0 over Denison.
The Big Red connected on their own solo homer, scoring their first run of the game. The Warhawks reclaimed the run, with Aaron Holland (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) hitting a sacrifice fly. Cootway added another run with an RBI single.
The Warhawks pitching kept working through the Denison hitters, but another solo home run added to the board for the Big Red in the bottom of the 5th. Matt Scolan (Downers Grove, Ill./South) cancelled it out the next inning with a RBI double forcing a change on the mound.
In the Top of 7, Danny Hopper (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) led the inning off with a double to spark another rally for the Warhawks. Four consecutive hits added a run and loaded the bases. Holland hit his second sacrifice fly of the day, with Scolan adding another RBI single to break the double-digit mark on the scoreboard.
Denison added two more runs in the final three innings, but the Warhawks pitching and defense closed the door on the Big Red leading to the 11-4 victory.
The Warhawks are next out to the field in the Pod Final against the winner of Sunday’s night cap of Rowan/Denison. First pitch is set for 1:15 PM (ET)/12:15 PM (CT) on Monday, June 2nd. Now scheduled for 12:30. Link for livestream Sportshttps://www.ncaa.com/game/6449675
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