The Warhawks will be making
their sixth appearance in the World Series in program
history. UW-Whitewater athletics photo by Alex Sager |
The UW-Whitewater baseball team staged a late inning comeback to defeat Adrian 5-4 Saturday at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional in Whitewater to advance to the World Series. The Warhawks, 40-7, will be making their sixth appearance in the World Series in program history, fourth under coach John Vodenlich.
Adrian finishes the season 33-5 with both losses in the regional coming at the hands of UW-Whitewater.
After scoring two in the bottom of the first after a walk and
three consecutive singles many might have thought it was going to
be an easy day for the Warhawks. Mitch Stefanski made sure it
was not. Stefanski belted a solo homer in the second, another
in the fourth and an RBI double in the sixth. Add that to a
solo homerun by Sam Fischer to lead off the fourth and the Bulldogs
had a 4-2 lead after five and a half.
The Warhawks began to chip away as soon as they could. With
one out in the sixth Mikole
Pierce (DePere/DePere) singled through the left
side. He stole second and was awarded third after the umpire
called interference on the Bulldog second baseman. A
groundout by Michael
Gonzalez (Delavan/Delavan-Darien) pushed Pierce across
and the Bulldog lead shrunk to 4-3.
Adam Gregory
(Edgerton/Edgerton) tied things up in the seventh on a single
to right field that plated Trey
Cannon (Palatine, IL/Palatine), and UW-W completed the
comeback by taking a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the eighth on a
sacrifice fly by Gonzalez.
Warhawk lefty Colin Grove
(Beloit/Memorial) entered the game part way through the sixth
and shutdown the Bulldogs. He registered five strikeouts
while allowing just two hits over three and two-thirds to earn the
victory and improve to 4-0 this season. Grove made three
appearances in the regional totaling 6.2 innings pitched and did
not allow a single run. For his efforts he was named to the
regional's all-tournament team.
Pierce, named the regional's Most Outstanding Player, was 2-for-3
in the game and scored two runs. Gonzalez accounted for two
RBIs and one run on a 1-for-3 performance, and Trey Cannon
(Palatine, IL/Palatine) went 2-for-3 with a run and an
RBI. Cannon's .462 average, five runs and three RBIs in the
regional earned him a spot on the all-tournament team.
Dylan Friend
(Burlington/Burlington) and Brock Liston
(Darien, IL/Joliet Catholic) were also named to the
all-tournament team. Friend hit .417 in four games with three
RBIs, two stolen bases and five walks. Liston earned UW-W's
first victory in the tournament throwing seven innings, scattering
five hits, two runs and seven strikeouts.
This is the fourth time in the last 11 years that UW-W has reached
the 40-win mark. Three of the four times the Warhawks
advanced to the World Series.
UW-W will play the winner of the New England Regional next Friday,
May 23, at 7:45 pm at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wis.