UW-La Crosse defeated UW-Whitewater for the sixth time in six meetings this season, 9-1 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship game Saturday night in La Crosse. The win gives UW-L, 33-9, the league's automatic berth in the NCAA III championship tournament, which begins with regional play Wednesday. UW-L could be headed to UW-Whitewater, which will host a regional. Whether the Warhawks, 29-15 and second place finishers in the WIAC regular season and in the league tourney, impressed the NCAA selection committee will have to await announcement of the field Monday morning.
UW-L took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first and Whitewater tied the score with an unearned run in the top of the second.
The Eagles scored what proved to be the game winner with an unearned run in the bottom of the second, and added three more in the fourth with Cole Cefalu's double scoring two for a 5-1 lead. Designated hitter Adam Cordova homered to lead off the fifth to increase the La Crosse lead to 6-1, and Cefalu drove in run number seven with a double in the sixth. Brooks Braga plated two runs with a homer in the bottom of the eighth to close the scoring.
UW-L won its second WIAC Tournament title, with the first coming in 2000 when UW-Whitewater hosted the tourney. La Crosse also won the WIAC regular season championship.
After collecting twenty hits in a win over Oshkosh earlier Saturday, UW-W was held to four hits by Eagle pitching. Warhawks DH Ryan Leavitt (Merrill/Merrill) went 2x4, also scoring the lone run. Cefalu and catcher Zach Harazin had three hits apiece for UW-L. Tom Kerndt (Lansing, IA/Lansing), 2-2, went the first 5.1 for UW-W to take the loss, and Kevin Johnson, 5-0, went seven innings to pick up the win.
UW-L took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first and Whitewater tied the score with an unearned run in the top of the second.
The Eagles scored what proved to be the game winner with an unearned run in the bottom of the second, and added three more in the fourth with Cole Cefalu's double scoring two for a 5-1 lead. Designated hitter Adam Cordova homered to lead off the fifth to increase the La Crosse lead to 6-1, and Cefalu drove in run number seven with a double in the sixth. Brooks Braga plated two runs with a homer in the bottom of the eighth to close the scoring.
UW-L won its second WIAC Tournament title, with the first coming in 2000 when UW-Whitewater hosted the tourney. La Crosse also won the WIAC regular season championship.
After collecting twenty hits in a win over Oshkosh earlier Saturday, UW-W was held to four hits by Eagle pitching. Warhawks DH Ryan Leavitt (Merrill/Merrill) went 2x4, also scoring the lone run. Cefalu and catcher Zach Harazin had three hits apiece for UW-L. Tom Kerndt (Lansing, IA/Lansing), 2-2, went the first 5.1 for UW-W to take the loss, and Kevin Johnson, 5-0, went seven innings to pick up the win.