Whitewater swept a doubleheader from the Pointers Saturday, winning 5-3 and 6-2 at University Field in Stevens Point.  And there is no bragging today because, unlike the saying, there is a tomorrow, as the same teams go at it Sunday.

These are games that the teams point to on the schedule.  There is no "one game at a time", "every game counts the same" when UW-Whitewater and UW-Stevens Point meet in baseball.  Here's what sets this rivalry apart.  UW-Whitewater has won nine of the last eleven Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships.  Stevens Point has won seven of the last eleven WIAC Tournament titles.  In the last eleven years both teams have earned NCAA III tournament berths seven times. 

The Pointers put a three spot up in their first at bat.  UW-SP started the inning with two singles.  Whitewater gave UW-SP a hand, committing three errors before the Pointers got their third, and final, hit of the inning. 

The Warhawks grabbed the lead in the fifth.  David Cladis (Joliet, IL/Joliet Catholic) singled to open the inning, followed by a single off the bat of Daniel Putnam (Ashland /Ashland).  Gladis and Putnam moved up on a double steal, giving Putnam a team high eleven thefts.  Andrew Eichstaedt (Appleton/North) walked to load the bases.  Senior catcher Rob Coe (Appleton/North) knocked in two runs with a single, Jeff Donovan (Wauwautosa/East) brought in the third run with a single and advanced to second on an error with Coe moving to third.  Ryan Leavitt (Merrill/Merrill) scored Coe with the game winning single.  All of the action took place with no outs in the inning, and Whitewater led 4-3.

The final scoring of the game came in the eighth, with Dylan Friend (Burlington) leading off with a double.  Cladis pushed him to third with a single, and Friend came home on a fielder's choice. 

UW-W lefty Riley Tincher (Oregon/Oregon) weathered the first inning storm, allowing no runs on four hits the rest of the way.  Tincher, who wasn't charged with any earned runs, walked none and struck out two to raise his record to 4-1.  Putnam, again, led the Warhawk offense with a 4x5 game.  Donovan and Cladis each collected a pair of hits.  Center fielder Cody Koback went 3x4 for the Pointers, with Scott Williams, 3-2, going the distance on the hill.

You had to excuse fans who showed up late, in time for game two.  For six innings it was a most uncharacteristic game for the WIAC.  The lone run, in a league dominated by double figure scoring, also came in small ball fashion, something the new bat regulations may contribute to.  In the third inning, Cladis reached first on a passed ball after striking out.  Eichstaedt singled, and Coe was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Donovan put UW-W in the scoring column with a sacrifice fly.

Things reverted to "normal" for the WIAC in the seventh, when UW-W erupted for five runs.  With a man on first Eichstaedt singled and Coe singled to score one.  Donovan followed with his first home run of the season, plating three.  With one out Matt Beyer (Janesville/Parker) reached on a fielder's choice and stole second, his sixth of the year.  Friend singled in Beyer and the inning ended with UW-W in front 6-0.

UW-SP came back in the bottom of the seventh.  Jared Surman singled and Sean Gerber picked up the RBI with a double.  Gerber stole third base and Dan Douglas singled in Gerber, making it 6-2.

Donovan pitched through the trouble in the seventh to go eight and keep his record perfect at 5-0.  He yielded seven hits, walked one and struck out six. Eric Schmitz (Fond du Lac/Fond du Lac) tossed a shutout ninth. UW-SP used four pitchers, with starter Joel Delorit, 2-1, taking the loss.

Eichstaedt and Coe had two hits apiece for UW-W, with no Pointer collecting more than one hit.

UW-W, 13-2 overall and 6-0 in the WIAC, will finish the regular season series with the Pointers (but given the history, probably are not done meeting for the season) Sunday at Stevens Point, 9-6 overall and 0-2 in the league.  The Warhawks' next home date is Wednesday, April 13, with UW-Platteville visiting Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium for a 1:00 start of the twinbill.

For additional information:  John Vodenlich, UW-W coach, 262 -472-1420