Whitewater, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse baseball team earned a 2-1 victory over 14th-ranked UW-Stevens Point Friday afternoon in its first game of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship at UW-Whitewater's Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium.  The second-seeded Eagles advance to play at 7 p.m. Friday against top-seeded and third-ranked UW-Whitewater.  Third-seeded UW-Stevens Point faces fourth-seeded UW-Stout in an elimination game starting at 4:30 p.m. Friday. 

UW-L, receiving votes on this week's American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division III Poll, improves to 25-14 on the season with Friday's win over 14th-ranked UW-Stevens Point.  The Eagles have won 14 of their last 15 games overall. 

The winner of the WIAC Championship earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Ben Cejka (7-2) earned the complete-game victory for UW-L, pitching 9.0 innings while allowing eight hits, one run and two walks with four strikeouts. 

UW-Stevens Point took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning on Cody Hanke's solo home run.  UW-L came right back in the bottom of the third to tie the game.  Josh Rowles doubled to start the inning and advanced to third on a Nic Barnes sacrifice bunt.  Taylor Kohlwey's infield single scored Rowles with the tying run. 

The game remained tied until the bottom of the seventh. Joel Zyhowski was hit-by-pitch to open the inning and Jordan Greenland followed with an RBI triple give the Eagles a 2-1 lead. 

The Pointers had three hits in the top of the ninth, but failed to score.  Brandon Kranz singled to start the inning and was replaced by pinch-runner Ben Gerber.  Taylor Carlson then grounded into a double play for the first two outs of the inning.  Bobby Gregorich followed with an infield single and Casey Barnes singled to center, but Cejka struck out Hanke to end the game.

Kranz and Gregorich each finished 2-for-4 for UW-Stevens Point. Cam Seidl (6-2) suffered the loss for the Pointers, pitching 8.0 innings, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out three.

UW-L was held to five hits, one each from Kohlwey, Greenland, Rowles. Cole Cefalu and Travis Buxton-Verstegen.