Paden with Walk-Off Homer to Cap off Warhawk Comeback over BSC
Warhawks defeat Birmingham-Southern 11-10 to keep season alive
By Broderick P. Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater kept their season alive with an 11-10 win over Birmingham-Southern College. The Warhawks were down by five runs heading into the 7th, but the Warhawks kept their composure and rallied back. The win was capped off by Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) hitting a walk-off homer one pitch into the bottom of the 9th.
Jack Hagen (San Clemente, Cal./San Clemente) only needed six batters to get through the first two innings, keeping the Panthers off the base path. The Warhawks offense capitalized in the bottom of the 2nd, with Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) starting off the scoring with a solo home run. Dominik McVay (Mineral Point, Wis./Mineral Point) followed suit, hitting his own solo homer immediately after.
Matt Scolan (Downers Grove, Ill./South) finished out the 3-run second inning with an RBI single to send Bennett Frazer (Oconto, Wis./Oconto) home.
Birmingham-Southern used the top of the third to close the gap, as Eli Steadman hit a 2-run homer to close the gap 3-2.
After the Panthers held the Warhawks scoreless in the 3rd, they took the lead with a 3-run 4th inning. The scoring started with another home run.
The game turned into a home run derby, as Matt Scolan (Downers Grove, Ill./South) sent a 2-run homer to right field in the bottom of the 4th to tie the game back up at 5 a-piece.
With the tie game, Birmingham-Southern flipped the momentum back to their side with a four-run frame in the top of the 5th.
In the top of the 6th, the Panthers extended the lead once again, taking a 10-5 lead over the Warhawks. With a three-up-three-down inning for UWW in the bottom of the 6th the Warhawks were running out of outs to play with.
Andy Thies (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles) sparked some life back into the Warhawks, hitting a two-run double after a Birmingham-Southern error extended the inning.
With Max Huseboe (Ripon, Wis./Ripon) and Logan Eisenbarth (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) combining for a scoreless inning, the Warhawks entered the bottom of the 8th down 10-7.
Scolan kept up his amazing game, with an RBI double to score McVay and close the gap to 10-8. After being quiet offensively for most of the game, Eli Frank (Bayport, Wis./Bay Port) was due as he scored himself and Scolan with a home run to tie the game up.
Eisenbarth got things done in three batters, including winning a 9-pitch at bat for the final out.
The Warhawks had three outs to score in regulation, but Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) only needed one pitch to walk things off. Paden hit his second home run of the night, keeping the Warhawks’ season alive.
The Warhawks defeated Birmingham-Southern 11-10 after the walk-off. Eisenbarth picked up the win, pitching the final four outs of the game.
The Warhawks will head back out for a rematch against Salve Regina in the Pool B championship game. The first pitch is set for Monday at 1:15 PM ET [12:15 PM in Whitewater.] The Warhawks will need to win two in order to advance to the NCAA World Series Championship Game.
Editor’s note: This game was the last that Birmingham-Southern will ever play, as the college closed effective May 31 due to declining enrollment and financial struggles. Here’s the link to a story about how much being in the World Series meant to Birmingham-Southern’s fans.
