The tenth ranked Warhawks raised their record to 7-2 with a doubleheader sweep of Ripon College Thursday at Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium, winning 19-4 and 14-6.  Ripon is 2-10.

UW-W combined a season high 25 hits with five Ripon errors in the 19-4 win in game one. 

The Warhawks broke out on top with three runs in the first, all of them unearned, with designated hitter Samuel Keller providing the big hit with a run scoring double.  UW-W added another tally in the second with the aid of two Red Hawk errors. 

Ripon cut the deficit in half with small ball in the third, combining a walk with two hits and two RBI's on ground balls.

UW-W came back with three of its own in the bottom of the third to lead 7-2, again with the help of a pair of Ripon fielding miscues.  Keller reached on an error to open the inning, and centerfielder Dylan Friend followed with his first home run of the season, and just the second of the season for UW-W.  Rightfielder Daniel Putnam scored the third run on the back half of a double steal.

First baseman Jeff Donovan and third baseman Brent Young drove in runs for Whitewater in the fifth; David Cladis brought one home with a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and Keller singled in another in the seventh to make it 11-4.  Ripon had scored twice in the top of the seventh, with the aid of a Warhawk error.

Whitewater demonstrated its depth while scoring eight runs on ten hits in the bottom of the eighth.  Andrew Eichstaedt drove in two with a single, Matt Beyer doubled in two, Steve Bartlein and Ryan Leavitt singled in one each, and two more came in on sacrifice flies to end the scoring. 

Eichstaedt led the hit parade, going 4x6.  Senior catcher Rob Coe, Donovan, Putnam and Keller each collected three hits for UW-W. 

Whitewater pitching limited Ripon to three hits, one single each to three players.  Senior lefty Riley Tincher raised his record to 2-1 with five innings from the start.  He gave up four hits and two earned runs, striking out three and walking three.  Justin Lambert, Tom Kerndt, and Eric Schmitz covered the final four innings, allowed just one hit and did not walk a batter. 

Even with the game time temperature dipping close to the 40 degree mark, the Warhawk bats didn't cool off between games.

UW-W opened with three in the bottom of the first.  Coe brought in Putnam with a single, after Putnam led off by getting hit by a pitch, stealing second, and advancing to third on a passed ball.  Eichstaedt and Donovan doubled in runs in the second to make it 5-0.  Friend doubled in one, Beyer brought a run home with a bunt, and run number eight ended the third inning with the Warhawks in front 8-0.

Young and shortstop Travis Wessels each drove in one in the fourth to extend the margin to 10-0. 

Meanwhile Jeff Donovan was cruising on the mound, setting the Red Hawks down in order in each of the first four innings.  Nine of the twelve Ripon batters grounded out.

The Red Hawks broke the ice in the fifth with a Dave McFarland double, advancing to third on a single by Adam Grambow, and coming home on a ground ball.

Putnam, on base for the third time, led off the fifth with a triple and scored on Eichstaedt's sacrifice fly to make it 11-1 Whitewater.  UW-W plated two more in the sixth, without the benefit of a hit.  Two errors, a sacrifice bunt, and a wild pitch helped the Warhawks increase their lead to 13-1.

The sixth was scoreless, but the Red Men rode the carousel for a while in the seventh, plating five runs.  Beau Steinke followed two hits with an RBI single of his own, and run number two came home on a Warhawk error.  Taylor Koth doubled in two more, and the fifth scored on a ground ball.  Whitewater led 13-6 after seven.

Putnam, no surprise, drove in the game's final run with an RBI single, scoring Beyer who had doubled with one out in the eighth.

Beyer collected four hits in five at bats.  Putnam was 3x4, and Coe and Donovan equaled their first game with three hits apiece.  Putnam has hit safely in all nine games for UW-W this season, is batting .579 with an on base percentage of .652.

Donovan improved to 3-0 with his five inning of work.  UW-W also received scoreless innings from Colin Grove and Matthew Roberts in relief -- as well as Coe, the Warhawks' senior catcher, who was made his collegiate debut on the mound.

UW-W will open Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play at home this weekend, hosting UW-Superior Saturday and Sunday.  The doubleheaders both days will begin at 12:00 at Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium on the north end of campus.  Free parking is adjacent to the field.