The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team advances to the Regional Final in Adrian, Michigan with a walk-off win against Washington University in St. Louis on Saturday evening.
Dominik McVay (Mineral Point, Wis./Mineral Point) sent Darryl Jackson (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King) into score on a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the 11th to give the Warhawks the 4-3 win in a defensive battle. Between the two teams, there were seven double plays throughout the game
Throughout the first two innings, both teams were able to get runners on, but the defense on both sides kept the runs off the board. The Warhawks finally broke through in the bottom of the third. Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) hit a two-RBI, with Danny Hopper (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) cleaning him up with a RBI single.
The Warhawk defense and pitching protected the 3-run lead until the 6th inning. WashU loaded up the bases, scoring a two-RBI double with one out. The Warhawks got out of the inning with a double play to maintain their advantage.
Heading into the ninth, the Warhawks were still up 3-2 with Logan Eisenbarth (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) getting the call to pitch the final three outs. The Bears only needed one swing, tying the game up with a solo home run in the top of the 9th.
The game headed into extra-innings, with both teams not allowing a single base-runner for 12 straight outs.
In the bottom of the 11th, Darryl Jackson (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King) drew a five-pitch walk to become the first base runner. That was all the Warhawks needed, with Dominik McVay (Mineral Point, Wis./Mineral Point) sending a double over the right fielder’s head that allowed Jackson to score the winning run.
Eisenbarth earned his second win in as many days, improving to 7-0 on the season. Eisenbarth allowed the tying run but then pitched 2.2 innings of hit-less baseball in extra innings.
The Warhawks will advance to the regional final, taking on the winner in the Saturday night-cap of Adrian and WashU. First pitch is scheduled for 10 AM (CDT) in Adrian. The game will be streamed on ncaa.com.
