UW-Whitewater swept a doubleheader from Edgewood College Wednesday, winning 12-2 and 14-2 at Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Both games were stopped after seven innings because of the run differential rule. UW-W, 20-5, is ranked tenth in Division III. Edgewood is 11-17 overall.
After a pair of scoreless innings, UW-W put three on the board in the third. Andrew Eichstaedt singled in the first run of the game, and Jeff Donovan brought in two with a double down the right field line.
UW-W's Matthew Roberts continued to stymie the Eagles with a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth. Edgewood finally broke through with a run in the fifth, combining a walk with two singles for a tally. Eric Curtis stroke the two out RBI single to cut Whitewater's lead to 3-1.
The Warhawks came back in their half of the fifth with four runs. Donovan picked up two more runs batted in with his second double of the game. Jared Fon followed with a RBI double, and Logan Peot made it back-to-back-to-back doubles to chase Edgewood starter Jason Towns. Whitewater led 7-1 after five.
The Eagles' second run came in the sixth, with a single, a double and a ground ball plating one for a 7-2 score.
Again, UW-W came right back and, as they did in the fifth, scored four times. The first score of the inning came in on an Eagle error, Coe brought one in with a sacrifice fly, and Ryan Leavitt and Fon both picked up runs batted in with singles to up the Whitewater lead to 11-2.
The coup de grace came in off an Eichstaedt sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh, ending the game via the run differential rule.
Roberts went all seven innings for UW-W to even his record to 1-1. He gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out six. Towns, 0-3, went four and two-thirds inning for Edgewood.
Donovan, with his 3x3 game -- all doubles, tied the UW-W record for doubles in a game. It marked the seventh time a Warhawk has accomplished the feat, most recently by Donovan April 10, 2010. Donovan also knocked in four runs, scored twice and reached on a hit by pitch. Daniel Putnam, Fon and Eichstaedt chipped in with two hits each. Andrew King and Eric Curtis both went 2x3 for Edgewood.
UW-W jumped in front again in game two, courtesy of RBI singles from Eichstaedt and Fon in the first inning.
But that was just the beginning as things fell apart for the Eagles. UW-W totaled seven runs on just three hits, but with aid of three Edgewood errors. Putnam drove in one run with a single to right, Coe walked to force in a run, Donovan knocked in two with a single to right, and Fon was credited with the other RBI in the inning with a sacrifice bunt.
In the top of the third Edgewood put together three singles, the last by Mike Selvaggi to make Whitewater's lead 9-1. Edgewood added its other run in the fourth when their leadoff reached on a Warhawk error, moved to third on a ground out and scored on Will Schlosser's single. Whitewater led 9-2.
UW-W added two runs on three hits, including back-to-back doubles by Fon and Steve Bartlein, in the bottom of the fourth. In the last of the fifth the Warhawks stole a run, using a delayed steal at first base to coax a throw to second that gave Putnam time to score from third. Donovan hit (another) double to plate Whitewater's thirteenth run. The final score of the game came on a double off the bat Andrew Bauer.
The winning pitcher for UW-W was Tom Kerndt, picking up his first decision of the season with six innings of six hit work. He walked two and struck out three. Justin Mortensen pitched a hitless seventh. Taylor Hillmann, 0-2, took the loss putting in one inning of work that yielded eight runs, seven of them earned.
Donovan, obviously not feeling the effects of the blustery day, went 3x3 with three more runs batted in --- giving him a 6x6 day with seven runs batted in. Fon contributed a 2x3 day with four runs batted in. Schlosser was 2x2 to lead Eagle hitters.
UW-W will host Concordia University (Illinois) Thursday at 1:00 at Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium.
For additional information: John Vodenlich, UW-W coach, 262-472-1420 or vodenlij@uww.edu