WHITEWATER, Wis. — University of Wisconsin-Whitewater claimed its third straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) regular season baseball championship with a doubleheader sweep over UW-River Falls at Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium on April 26.
UW-Whitewater (31-3 overall, 23-0 WIAC) extended its win streak to 30 games and won the regular-season crown for the 24th time in program history. The Warhawks also clinched the No. 1 seed for the WIAC Tournament (presented by Culver’s) and will host the four-team, double-elimination event May 7-9. The conference tournament winner secures an automatic NCAA bid.
To start the day, UW-River Falls took an early lead with a sacrifice fly run in the top of the second. The Warhawks were able to answer back, taking the lead with two runs in the fourth. Landen Seymour drove in a run on a groundout to get the Warhawks on the board, followed by an RBI double from Dominick McVay. In the fifth, Aaron Holland tacked on his own run with an RBI double to take a 3-1 lead after five complete.
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UW-River Falls was able to tie up the game in the sixth inning, scoring two runs in the frame. The Warhawks were quickly able to get back ahead, with McVay hitting an RBI double to put the Warhawks back on top. Jackson Koenig traded places with McVay for his own RBI double, putting the Warhawks up by two runs.
Sam Steuber worked through the first 6.0 innings, able to pick up the win with the Warhawks taking the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Ethan Wickman pitched the final three innings to earn the save. He did not allow a single hit in the final three frames, striking out two.
The Warhawks added more insurance runs to build their lead on the Falcons. Evan Olson added a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Danny Hopper added a run in the eighth from a sacrifice bunt. Andy Thies put the final touches on the game with a two-run homer to push the Warhawks to the 9-3 win.
In game two, the Warhawks posted a 10-0 victory in eight innings. They scored three runs in the third inning thanks to a leadoff home run from Aaron Holland. Leyten Bowers’ RBI single and Landen Seymour’s sacrifice fly put the Warhawks up 3-0.
UW-Whitewater scored five runs on three hits in the fifth inning. Thies singled to load the bases before a balk scored McVay and advanced the runners. Olson cleared the bags with a two-RBI single before Bowers found the pitch he wanted for a two-run shot down the left-field line. Bowers’ homer put the Warhawks up 8-0.
Hopper added another run in the fifth, followed by Olson hitting his third RBI of the game to get the run-rule win.
Ben Lee pitched a shutout 6.0 innings to earn the win in game two. Lee allowed only three hits and walked one with three strikeouts.
