The No. 4/8 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team extended its win streak to eight games Sunday with consecutive victories at St. Norbert in a non-conference doubleheader in De Pere, Wis.
The Warhawks (32-6 overall) capped the regular season with a 13-1 victory in seven innings after posting a 14-9 triumph in the first game of the day.
In the opener, UW-Whitewater erupted for 11 runs over the final four innings to erase an early 7-2 deficit. The two teams combined for 28 hits and eight errors.
Senior left-hander James Georgakas tossed five innings of relief to pick up his second win of the season, allowing only two earned runs during that span. Senior righty Mike Nompleggi pitched three shutout innings after Georgakas to earn his sixth save of the year.
Senior shortstop Jordan Kuczynski belted a two-run homer to put the Warhawks on the board in the top of the second, but the Green Knights (26-10) responded with six runs in the bottom half of the frame to take a five-run lead.
UW-Whitewater tacked on another run in the third on an RBI single by sophomore designated hitter Cal Aldridge. The team tied the game at 7-7 in the sixth on a one-out grand slam by senior third baseman Dylan Bersch.
After St. Norbert took a 9-7 advantage with two in the bottom of the sixth, the Warhawks closed the game with seven unanswered runs. Aldridge hit a sacrifice fly and another run scored on an error to tie the contest, and sophomore outfielder Kevin White knocked another sacrifice fly to give the team the lead for good.
Junior centerfielder Brett Krause finished 5-for-5 with three runs scored, Bersch recorded three hits, two runs scored and four RBI, and Kuczynski and Aldridge registered two hits and three RBI apiece. Sophomore catcher Mike Aiello added two hits and two runs scored, and sophomore left fielder Matt Wary scored two runs and plated another.
In Game 2, UW-Whitewater quickly took control with a six-run third inning, which included a grand slam by Aldridge, who finished 4-for-4 with five RBI in the contest.
Junior first baseman Jeff Szubert also homered and finished 2-for-4 with three runs scored and one RBI. Senior second baseman Steve Chamberlain collected three hits, two runs scored and two RBI, and White registered two runs scored and two RBI.
Sophomore pitcher Sam Heilenbach tossed six shutout innings to earn his first win. The right-hander allowed only three hits and posted six strikeouts in the outing.
The Warhawks begin postseason play Friday at 1 p.m. in their first game of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship at Miller Stadium. UW-Whitewater earned the tournament's top seed and hosting privileges by winning the WIAC regular season title.