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The No. 9 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team surged to a 10-run lead and hung on late Friday for a 10-6 triumph against the Milwaukee School of Engineering in the first game of the NCAA Whitewater Regional at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium.
The Warhawks (34-8 overall) advance to face the winner of the Augustana/Aurora game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
UW-Whitewater tallied six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to break open a close game. After the Warhawks added two more in the sixth, the Raiders (27-17) responded with six in the top of the seventh, tallying three before a rain delay and three more after play resumed to cut into their deficit.
Cam Anfang and Cade Berendt combined to keep MSOE off the board in the eighth and ninth innings, allowing UW-W to preserve the victory.
Westin Muir struck out nine batters over six-plus innings to improve to 10-2 on the season. Making his first appearance of the year, Donovan Brandl recorded the first two outs of the seventh before Anfang took over following a brief second rain delay.
Left fielder Matt Scolan led the Warhawks at the plate with two hits, including a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the first, two runs scored and three runs batted in. First baseman Nick Paget collected two hits, two runs scored and one RBI, while second baseman David Rubin finished 2-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI.
Third baseman Matt Korman posted two hits, one walk and one run scored and catcher Ryan Norton chipped in with one hit, one run scored and one RBI. Shortstop Bennett Frazer also plated a run for UW-W.
UW-Whitewater struck twice in the first on Scolan's solo homer and an error by the Raiders.
In the fourth, Norton plated a run on a single to right, and Korman scored from third on a passed ball. Rubin's double to left center made it 5-0 before a two-run double by Scolan and a wild pitch to increase the lead to 8-0.
Paget delivered an RBI single in the sixth and came around to score on Frazer's bases-loaded walk to increase the margin to 10.
MSOE drew four walks during its six-run seventh inning. Anfang finished the inning on a strikeout.
Berendt pitched around a hit and an error in the ninth, leaving the tying run in the on-deck circle with a fielder's choice and a strikeout.
UW-Whitewater last played Aurora in 2012, posting a 6-5 win in 10 innings at the NCAA Tournament. The team last played Augustana in 2016, tallying a 15-3 victory in the NCAA Tournament.