AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The No. 3 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team opened the 2018 season Wednesday with a pair of victories on a windy day at Lake Myrtle Park.
The Warhawks (2-0 overall) started with a 5-3 triumph over Babson (Mass.), which is receiving votes in the D3baseball.com national poll. They concluded the day with an 11-1 victory over Hope (Mich.) in a game called after seven innings due to run rule.
Against Babson (6-5), junior third baseman Cal Aldridge broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the eighth with a sacrifice fly to score senior centerfielder Daytona Bryden, who doubled to lead off the inning and advanced to third after a groundout by sophomore designated hitter Trevor Cho.
Junior left fielder Matt Wary doubled the lead with a two-out base hit through he left side, his third hit of the contest, and sophomore Riley Gruetzmacher shut the door in the top of the ninth inning for his first save of the year.
Sophomore pitcher Connor Moroder picked up the win after tossing three innings in relief of senior Heath Renz, who surrendered only one hit and one run while striking out six in five-plus innings of work.
Sophomore first baseman Ben Wilkins finished 2-for-4 in his team debut, giving UW-Whitewater the lead at 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out, three-run homer down the right field line.
In the nightcap against Hope (2-8), the Warhawks scored five runs in the top of the fifth and three more in the top of the sixth to open up a large lead.
Senior Austin Jones collected the win after tossing five innings, allowing one run while striking out seven. Junior Sam Heilenbach and freshman Westin Muir each pitched one inning in relief for the staff, which stranded 11 Dutch baserunners in the victory.
Aldridge led the offense with two hits, two runs scored and three runs batted in. Senior first baseman Blake Fleischman and senior right fielder Brett Krause each collected two hits, one run scored and two RBI. Senior catcher Mike Aiello and junior shortstop Nick Schrader added two hits and one RBI apiece.
UW-Whitewater returns to action Thursday to face 11th-ranked Washington & Jefferson (Pa.), last season's national runner-up. First pitch is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Central Time in Auburndale.