The No. 23 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team won for the ninth time in its last 10 games Saturday with a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader sweep over UW-Stout at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium.
The Warhawks (14-6 overall, 7-1 WIAC) edged the Blue Devils 4-3 in the second game of the day after an 11-9 triumph in the opener.
In Game 1, the two teams combined for 27 hits and scored 18 of the game's 20 runs over the first five innings.
UW-Stout (10-7, 5-5) pulled to within two runs in the top of the eighth, but after senior Michael Kaska induced a fly ball double play to end the frame, sophomore Connor Spear pitched a perfect 1-2-3 ninth inning for his first save.
Kaska (3-2) struck out five over eight innings of work.
Sophomore shortstop Nick Santoro registered three hits, including one of UW-Whitewater's four home runs in the contest, and added three runs scored and two runs batted in. Senior second baseman Nick Schrader posted three hits, including a homer, two runs scored and three RBI, and senior catcher Mike Aiello finished with two hits, including one home run, two runs scored and two RBI.
Sophomore designated hitter Connor Moroder hit a solo home run, and freshman left fielder Matt Korman added two hits, including one triple, and one RBI. Junior centerfielder Alex Doud and junior first baseman Lucas Price also plated one run apiece.
In the nightcap, Santoro knocked in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning, and sophomore Matt O'Sullivan tossed a complete game, allowing only two earned runs while striking out nine without a walk over nine innings. He improved to 3-2 on the year.
The Blue Devils took a 2-0 lead after single tallies in the first and second innings, but the Warhawks tied the affair with two in the second on an RBI double by sophomore right fielder Bryan Sturdevant and a run-scoring single by junior centerfielder Noah Jensen.
UW-Whitewater gained its first lead in the bottom of the fifth on an error, but left three of their 10 runners left on base for the game in the inning.
UW-Stout tied it at 3-3 in the top of the sixth before the Warhawks took the lead for good in the bottom half of the frame.
O'Sullivan pitched around leadoff hits in the seventh and ninth to preserve the UW-Whitewater win.
Between the first and second game, members of the 2014 national championship team were recognized in celebration of the fifth anniversary of the program's second NCAA Division III title. The Warhawks won 19 of their last 20 games that season in claiming the WIAC championship, regional title and Division III World Series championship.
UW-Whitewater is slated to return to action Sunday with a doubleheader against UW-Stout starting at 12 p.m. at Miller Stadium. With inclement weather in the forecast, check back to uwwsports.com for the latest schedule information.