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.
