The No. 16 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team clinched at least a share of its third consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship Friday with two victories over UW-Stevens Point at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium.
The Warhawks (28-9 overall, 19-3 WIAC) have now won 19 conference regular season titles, second-most in league history, and six in the last seven years.
UW-Whitewater edged the Pointers (14-22, 6-16) by a 7-6 margin in the opener before walking off in the eighth inning of the second game with a 13-2 triumph.
In Game 1, the Warhawks tallied six runs in the bottom of the third inning and never trailed again in the contest despite UW-Stevens Point closing to within one after scoring three times in the top of the seventh.
Sophomore Westin Muir improved to 6-0 on the year by tossing eight innings, striking out seven in the outing. Freshman Hayden Fox earned his second save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
After UW-Stevens Point recorded two runs in the top of the third, senior catcher Mike Aiello started the scoring in the bottom half with a base hit to right field. Junior centerfielder Nick Jensen brought another run in with a single up the middle.
Freshman left fielder Matt Korman cleared the bases with a bases-loaded triple to left to make it 5-2, and scored from third on a sacrifice fly by junior right fielder Alex Doud to extend the lead to four.
The Pointers drew to within 6-3 in the fifth, but the Warhawks got the run back in the sixth on a fielder's choice by sophomore shortstop Nick Santoro.
The Pointers closed to within one run after a double and homer in the seventh, but Muir retired five of the next six hitters he faced to get through eight and give way to Fox in the ninth.
Korman posted two hits and three runs batted in, and Jensen and Santoro each registered two hits, one run scored and one RBI. Senior third baseman Cal Aldridge drew three walks and scored one run.
In Game 2, UW-Whitewater mashed 17 hits and held UW-Stevens Point scoreless over the first five frames. Jensen hit a three-run homer in the eighth to end the contest via run rule.
Sophomore Connor Spear tossed six innings, allowing only three hits and one run while striking out four to move to 7-0 for the season. Sophomore Evan Sigmund tossed the final two innings in relief.
Jensen led the offense with four hits, four runs scored and three RBI, while sophomore first baseman Connor Moroder collected three hits, three runs scored and one RBI. Korman finished with two hits, one run scored and two RBI, and Aiello and Doud totaled two hits and one RBI apiece.
The Warhawks look to clinch the WIAC title outright during Saturday's doubleheader against the Pointers. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Miller Stadium.