The No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team tallied 31 runs and mashed 34 hits Wednesday en route to a two-game sweep of 11th-ranked UW-Stevens Point in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader in Stevens Point, Wis.
The Warhawks (23-4 overall, 11-3 WIAC) won both contests by run rule in seven innings, defeating the Pointers 20-5 in Game 1 and by an 11-1 count in the nightcap.
With the victories, UW-Whitewater moves into a tie for first place in the conference with UW-Platteville, which visits Miller Stadium for a four-game set this weekend.
Six players finished with two or more hits in the opener. Senior catcher Mike Mierow, senior shortstop Mikole Pierce and sophomore third baseman Steve Chamberlain posted three hits apiece. Senior first baseman Casey Power finished 2-for-4 with a team-best four runs batted in, while Mierow and senior left fielder Kyle Haen registered three RBIs apiece.
Junior right-hander Curtis Morgan improved to 5-0 on the season with the win on the mound, completing 4 2/3 innings before being relieved by sophomore lefty John Olejniczak.
The Warhawks sprinted out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Pierce plated the first run with a single to left, and Haen and Mierow registered back-to-back RBI hits to make it a four-run lead. Mierow later scored from third on a wild pitch.
After the Pointers (19-11, 10-8) scored once in the bottom of the first, UW-Whitewater added another in the top of the second on a two-out single by Haen.
The Warhawks tallied seven unanswered runs in the fourth and fifth frames to make it 13-2. Power highlighted the fourth with a two-run double, and Mierow knocked in his third run of the contest with two outs in the inning.
In the fifth, freshman right fielder Will Helbing hit a sacrifice fly, and Power knocked in two more with a base hit to right. Pierce and Power then pulled off a first-and-third double steal to extend the lead to 11 runs.
UW-Stevens Point scored twice in the bottom of the fifth, but UW-Whitewater added one in the sixth in a run-scoring, infield single by Helbing, and plated six more in the seventh on a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly by Haen, a bases-loaded walk by freshman right fielder Kevin White, a two-run single by freshman centerfielder Daytona Bryden and an RBI base hit by Chamberlain.
The Warhawks broke the second game open with a five-run top of the fourth, recording another 17 hits in the affair. The team scored runs in six of the seven innings.
Chamberlain was 4-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs, while Power finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Mierow hit his first home run of the season and plated three runs.
Senior left-hander Colin Grove pushed his mark to 6-1 with the win, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out six in six innings of work.
Mierow's homer – his first since May 9, 2014 – gave UW-Whitewater a 1-0 lead in the top of the second.
After the Pointers tied the game in the bottom half of the inning, Power put the Warhawks back in front with a run-scoring single to left center.
Helbing and Bryden recorded back-to-back RBI hits in the fourth. Three batters later, Power singled in another run, and Haen and Mierow drew consecutive bases-loaded walks to put UW-Whitewater ahead 7-1.
The Warhawks added one in the fifth, one in the sixth and two in the seventh, and sophomore righty Austin Finn pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh to end the contest.
UW-Whitewater continues WIAC play this Saturday with a doubleheader at home against UW-Platteville. The Warhawks will also hold "Return of the Champions" Day for alumni of the program. The 2005 NCAA Division III championship team will be recognized between games, and new 2005 and 2014 national title banners will be unveiled.