By Danny Gibel
Special to D3sports.com
EASTLAKE, Ohio – With their wings against the wall and facing elimination, the UW-Whitewater Warhawks took care of business against the Salve-Regina Seahawks with a 7-4 victory.
It was the second meeting between the two programs in Eastlake. The Seahawks won Saturday night’s winner’s bracket matchup 2-0.
There will be a third meeting later this evening, and there is optimism on both sides regarding the outcome of that game.
“We played four games a weekend in our league, a doubleheader on Saturday, and a doubleheader on Sunday,” said Warhawks coach John Vodenlich. “So, having to win two in a day is something we've done.”
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| UW-Whitewater busted out the bats to get past Salve Regina. Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com | More photos from this game coming at d3photography.com |
The second game of the day got off to a quiet start with only two combined hits, both singles, between Salve Regina and UW-Whitewater. The first real action did not happen until the top of the third inning when right fielder Matt D’Amato and center fielder Brandon Grover saved at least one run with two of the best defensive plays of the tournament
With the top of the Warhawks order due up in the inning, the two Seahawks outfielders were on high alert. Aaron Holland, the second batter of the inning, hit a liner off the top third of the wall in right, narrowly missing his fifth home run of the season. D’Amato played the ball beautifully off the fence and gunned down Holland as he slid headfirst into second base.
“When the ball goes off the wall, as a hitter, you're confident it's a pretty good swing,” said Vodenlich. “And he was locked in.”
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On the very next pitch, Grover robbed Matt Scolan of a home run in deep right-center field. Grover tracked the ball back to the fence, then jumped up to make the incredible catch with his back to the wall.
In the bottom of the third, riding the momentum created by two defensive gems in the outfield, the Seahawks took a 1-0 lead thanks to a two-out RBI double by Evan O’Rourke. O’Rourke ripped the ball down the left field line, allowing Michael Breen to score from first.
“As long as we just keep hitting the ball hard, good things will eventually happen,” said O’Rourke. “And that's just what we're trying to do. Keep it simple.”
While the Warhawks were able to plate a run via a sac fly by Sam Paden in the top of the fourth inning and tie the game, they failed to capitalize with the bases loaded.
The Seahawks retook the lead in the home half of the fourth inning, and remarkably, they did so without recording a single hit. A leadoff walk to D’Amato and then a botched double play left runners on the corners with nobody out. Hunter Yaworksi grounded sharply into a 6-3 double play that allowed D’Amato to sprint 90 feet and tie the game once again.
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| Salve Regina's Brandon Grover skied to rob UW-Whitewater's Matt Scolan of a home run. Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com |
Even though they did not have the offensive numbers to show for it, Christian Homa still has confidence in the offense heading into the night game: “I think we all put great swings on the ball today. I think we just must keep doing that — we're going to have to attack fastballs.”
It was almost expected that the Warhawks would answer right back in the top of the fifth, and they certainly did. Luiz Ortiz, who had come on to pitch for the Seahawks before the inning, allowed the only three batters he faced to reach base.
Salve coach Eric Cirella then went to his second reliever of the inning, Tommy DelVecchio, hoping to keep the Warhawks at bay. Unfortunately for Cirella and the Seahawks, Adam Cootway shot a three-run triple down the right-field line. Cootway’s first triple of the season gave the Warhawks a 4-2 lead.
“I don't think we played particularly well ... and when you play a team like they are, and you don't play a very good game, you’re probably not going to win,” said Cirella. “The nice thing was it was a three-run game.”
With the chance to eliminate the Warhawks starting to dwindle after allowing another run in the top of the sixth, D’Amato launched a two-run home run to the grassy hill that sits just behind the right field wall at Classic Park. Even after cutting the lead back down to one, the Warhawks refused to surrender the advantage.
“We were chasing runs at that point,” said D’Amato. “So, I was just going out there looking for a pitch I could handle, and he hung a slider, and I was just able to get the barrel on it.”
Cootway came through a second time in the top of the eighth inning. This time it was an RBI single that brought Eli Frank home from second base after he doubled with one out in the inning. Cootway came around to score two batters later by way of a Paden single that gave the Warhawks a 7-4 lead.
When it comes to the second game against Salve Regina this evening, Frank said: “We're not wanting to let them strike first, and then let them set the tone and then match it. We want to be able to get out there and take it first.”
Whitewater’s win means there will be a third matchup between the Warhawks and the Seahawks. The first pitch for that game is scheduled for 8 p.m. The winner of the rubber match will advance to the championship on Wednesday.