The No. 2 ranked University of Wisconsin- Whitewater baseball team split with UW-Stevens Point, winning 6-0 in the first game and falling 12-8 in the second game of a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader Friday afternoon at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium in Whitewater, Wis.
In the first game, the Warhawks (25-5 overall, 15-3 WIAC) slammed three home runs, one each from senior designated hitter Cal Aldridge, junior catcher Mike Aiello and junior infielder Nick Schrader.
Senior pitcher Heath Renz tossed the first seven innings and recorded 10 strikeouts, improving his season record to 5-1. Sophomore pitcher Matt O'Sullivan pitched the remainder of the game and tallied three strikeouts to combine with Renz for the shutout.
Aiello collected one hit, one run and two runs batted in in the victory and Schrader posted one hit, one run and two RBI.
The Warhawks and the Pointers remained scoreless for the first three innings of the game. Despite two hits in the third inning by UW-Stevens Points, UW-Whitewater ended the inning on a Renz strikeout with the bases loaded.
After two outs in the bottom of the third, senior center fielder Daytona Bryden tripled to start a hot streak for the Warhawks.
Schrader posted a home run to send Bryden in, followed by a homer from Aldridge to make the score 3-0.
In the fourth inning, sophomore Alex Doud registered a double, followed by a home run from Aiello to account for two runs.
UW-Stevens Point (24-10 overall, 15-5 WIAC) did not record a hit in the fourth through sixth innings, and the Warhawks maintained the shutout in the last three innings while leaving three Pointers left on base.
Despite UW-Whitewater climbing back within one in the bottom of the eighth of the second game, it was unable to come out on top.
Sam Heilenbach tossed the first six-plus in the second and registered three strikeouts and the loss to make his season record, 3-1. Senior Ryan Makuski finished out the seventh inning and recorded two strikeouts, Evan Sigmund tossed the next 1 1/3 innings, and Riley Gruetzmacher finished the game at the mound.
Schrader collected four hits, two RBI and one run in the second game and Bryden contributed two hits, two runs and two runs-batted in. Aldridge added two hits, one run and an RBI and Doud collected two hits, including a home run, two RBI and one run.
Facing a 9-3 deficit going into the bottom of the seventh the Warhawks posted two runs in the bottom of the seventh and three runs in the bottom of the eighth to climb within one, but three runs by the Pointers in the top of the ninth secured the victory.
UW-Whitewater hosts UW-Stevens Point in a doubleheader Sunday at 12 p.m. at Miller Stadium. The first 125 fans in attendance will receive a free bobblehead of Warhawks public address announcer Tom Lange.