The Warhawk bats provided enough offense to surpass UW-Superior in both games of a doubleheader Friday in Duluth, Minnesota.  UW-W won game one 12-11 in eleven innings and game two 15-9.  Besides the 27 runs scored in the two games, UW-W recorded 42 hits, five walks, five doubles, one triple, and one homerun.  Superior did some damage themselves notching 20 runs and 24 hits in the two games.  The Warhawks improve to 24-13 overall and 14-8 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference while Superior falls to 17-20 overall and 8-14 in the WIAC.

In game one Marty Herum (River Falls/River Falls) recorded three of his game high five RBIs in the bottom of the first inning on a homerun over the center field wall that plated Jared Fon (Germantown) and Dylan Friend (Burlington/Burlington).

Superior pulled even in the bottom of the third on a three-run homerun to right field by third baseman Shawn Lanners.  They then took the lead in the bottom of the fourth scoring four runs; one on a single to center, two on a double down the right field line, and one more on a groundout to the shortstop.

The Warhawks pulled to within one at 7-6 in the top of the fifth scoring one on a Herum single to right center and two on a Ryan Leavitt(Merrill/Merrill) triple to right field.  UW-W then plated four more in the top of the sixth to take a 10-7 lead. David Cladis (Joliet, IL/Joliet Catholic) earned one RBI on a double to left field that plated Steve Bartlein (South Milwaukee/South Milwaukee).  Cladis came in to score when Matt Beyer (Janesville/Parker), the next batter, singled to left.  Two batters later Fon singled to left and Beyer scored the third run of the inning.  Fon advanced to second on a wild pitch and came around to score on a Herum single to center for the final run of the inning.

Superior made it 10-8 in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double by catcher Jeff Miller that scored Rob Veith.  Veith scored four runs in the game.

Mike Mierow (Brookfield/Central) got that run back for the Warhawks in the top of the eighth on a single to left that scored Fon and extended UW-W's lead to 11-8.

Refusing to go down quietly, the Yellowjackets tied the game up in the bottom of the eighth scoring three runs on three hits.

A scoreless ninth for both teams meant extra baseball.  It wasn't until the eleventh inning that the Warhawks broke the tie when Cladis singled to score pinch runner JT Schneider (Oak Creek/Oak Creek) and give the Warhawks a 12-11 lead.

Eric Schmitz (Fond du Lac/Fond du Lac), on since the eighth, retired the Yellowjackets 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eleventh to earn the victory. Schmitz, now 7-2, gave up three hits and fanned four while walking none.  Schmitz, combined with starter Tom Kerndt (Lansing, IA/Lansing) and middle reliever Quintin Zander (Black Earth/Wisconsin Heights) combined to strikeout 14 batters.

The Warhawks accounted for twenty of the game one thirty-five hits; Herum led the way with four while Fon and Cladis each tallied three.

Game two started similarly to game one.  The score was tied 3-3 after three innings of play.  The Warhawks' three runs came in the top of the second.  With two outs, Bartlein doubled to left center to plate Mierow.  Brandon Egnarski (Watertown/Watertown) followed with a single that scored Bartlein.  Cladis singled to move Egnarski to third.  Tim Conroy (Barrington, IL/Barrington) came in as a pinch hitter and reached on an error that allowed Egnarski to score the third and final run of the inning.

UW-W took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth when Herum crossed home plate on a Mierow single to left field.

Six more runs in the top of the sixth gave UW-W a 10-3 lead.  Four of the runs were scored on singles, one on a sac fly and another on a ground out.

The Warhawks tacked on two more in the top of the seventh on a Leavitt double to left center that scored Herum and Friend to move ahead 12-3.

The ever resilient Yellowjackets scored six in the bottom of the seventh to make it 12-9 and keep things interesting.  Superior batted around in the inning and scored six runs on five hits and one error.

Another three runs in the top of the eighth put UW-W out ahead 15-9.  Cladis led off the inning with a single and Conroy followed with a double.  Friend hit a sac fly on the next at bat to score Cladis and Fon followed with a single to plate Conroy.  Herum came through again with his seventh RBI of the day on a double to left center that scored Fon.

After an error in the bottom of the ninth allowed the leadoff batter to reach, Kyle Lee (Beaver Dam/Beaver Dam), on in relief of Aaron Leitner(Chilton/Chilton), struck out the next batter and got the third batter of the inning to ground into a double play to end the game.

Leitner pitched six and a third, struck out eight, and walked four to earn the win to improve to 2-2 overall.  Lee, who came on in the seventh, earned the save, his first of the season.

Eleven different Warhawks recorded a hit during the doubleheader including every starter in game one.  Herum led the way going 8-for-11 with seven RBIs and four runs scored.  Cladis went 7-for-10 with three RBIs and four runs scored while Fon went 6-for-12 with two runs batted in and four runs scored.  Leavitt chipped in five RBIs and one run scored and Mierow drove in three and crossed home twice.

Herum has been on a tear as of late.  In the last six games he is hitting .556 (15-for-27), has driven in 16 of his team leading 48 RBIs, boasts an on base percentage of .517 and a slugging percentage of .778.

The Warhawks and Yellowjackets will play another doubleheader Saturday in Duluth beginning at noon.  The games will conclude Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season play for both teams.  The WIAC will hold its conference tournament on May 11-12 in La Crosse, Wisconsin on the campus of UW-La Crosse.

For additional information, John Vodenlich, UW-W head coach