The No. 9 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team claimed the NCAA Whitewater Regional championship with a 12-8 victory against No. 20 Aurora (Ill.) in the second of two games played Sunday at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium.
The Warhawks (36-9 overall), who claimed their first regional title since the format shifted to a four-team tournament, will take on No. 12 UW-Stevens Point Friday and Saturday, May 27-28, in a best-of-three series in the NCAA Super Regional Round.
After dropping the first game of the day by a 13-8 score, UW-Whitewater responded well in the night cap, posting 14 hits and getting clutch pitching performances on its way to a 12-8 triumph and the program's first regional championship since 2016.
Centerfielder Zach Campbell and third baseman Matt Korman led the offense. Campbell finished 4-for-4 with three runs scored and three runs batted in, while Korman registered two hits, including a three-run homer, and tallied three runs scored and four RBIs.
Left fielder Matt Scolan and second baseman Sam Vomhof each totaled two hits and two runs scored. Shortstop Bennett Frazer collected two hits and two RBIs, and first baseman Nick Paget, right fielder Jacob DeMeyer and cather Ryan Norton each plated one run.
Cade Berendt tossed the first five innings to pick up the win, improving to 7-0 for the season. Sam Paden pitched three-plus innings to bridge the gap to Donovan Brandl, who got the final three outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
The three UW-W pitchers combined to strand 10 Spartan runners in the contest.
The two teams traded runs in the first inning. Campbell's two-out double to right center plated Vomhof to give the Warhawks the early lead. Aurora (36-11) responded in the bottom half of the frame with two runs to take the lead.
Korman homered with two outs in the third for his second long ball in as many days, giving UW-Whitewater a 4-2 advantage. The Spartans cut their deficit to 4-3 with a run in the bottom of the inning.
The Warhawks broke the game open in the fifth with four runs. Paget started the scoring with a run-scoring base hit up the middle and was followed by Korman, who smashed a single to right center that scored one run. DeMeyer added an RBI double and Frazer hit a sacrifice fly for an 8-3 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Spartans rallied for two runs before Scolan threw out a third run trying to score on a base hit to left, keeping the UW-W lead at 8-5.
Aurora threatened again in the sixth, but Paden pitched out of it, leaving the bases loaded with a fielder's choice ground ball to short.
UW-Whitewater added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth. Frazer knocked a base hit to center to score one run before Norton hit a sacrifice fly to left in the seventh. In the eighth, Campbell came through with a two-out, two-run double to right center to make it 12-5.
The Spartans touched home plate three times in the bottom of the ninth before Brandl retired the final three batters of the contest.
In the first game of the day, Aurora plated seven runs in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth to take a commanding lead. UW-W scored six times in the ninth inning before the rally came up short.
Korman collected three hits, including two doubles, with one run scored and one RBI. Scolan knocked in three runs, while Vomhof tallied two hits and one run scored. Second baseman David Rubin finished 2-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI and Campbell and Paget each added one hit, one run scored and one RBI.
Pitcher Cam Anfang dropped to 4-1 on the season with the loss. Nick Rector and Trey Bretl each pitched in relief.
The winner of this week's Super Regional series will earn a trip to the NCAA Division III World Series, which is set for June 3-8 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
UW-Whitewater and UW-Stevens Point played four times during the regular season. The Warhawks took three of the four meetings, all played at Miller Stadium in Whitewater.