UW-La Crosse Wins WIAC Baseball Tournament
LA CROSSE, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse earned the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Baseball Tournament championship with a 9-1 victory over UW-Whitewater at North Campus Field on May 12.
It is UW-La Crosse's second conference tournament title in school history (2000) as the team earns an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships. The Eagles improved to 33-9 with the victory over the Warhawks.
The NCAA Division III Championship field will be announced Monday, May 14. UW-La Crosse will be making its second appearance in the national tournament. The Eagles went 2-2 in 1998.
UW-La Crosse is ranked 12th on the American Baseball Coaches Assocation (ABCA) Poll and 16th on D3baseball.com while UW-Whitewater is 28th on the ABCA Poll.
Kevin Johnson (5-0) earned the win for UW-La Crosse, going 7.0 innings, allowing four hits, one unearned run and three walks while striking out three. Skyler Debilzen pitched 2.0 innings with one strikeout.
UW-La Crosse took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning in Saturday's championship game. Brooks Braga singled with one out and scored on Jay Fanta's two-out double. The Warhawks tied the game in the top of the second with an unearned run. Ryan Leavitt singled with one out and advanced to third after a failed pickoff attempt. He scored on Mike Mierow's RBI groundout. The Eagles took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning as Zach Harazin scored on a muffed throw by the Warhawks.
The Eagles scored three times in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-1 lead. Brett Jacobson opened the inning with a triple and scored on Harazin's single. After Trevor Burmeister walked, Garrett Novinski moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt. Cole Cefalu then delivered a two-out two-run double down the left field line to make it 5-1.
Adam Cordova hit a solo home run in the fifth inning and Cefalu had an RBI double to score Corey Geary in the sixth to give the Eagles a 7-1 lead.
Cefalu singled with two outs in the eighth and scored on Braga's two-run home run to finish the scoring.
Eight of nine starters had a hit for UW-La Crosse. Cefalu finished 3-for-5 with a run scored and three RBI while Harazin was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Braga was 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBI Fanta finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Tom Kerndt (2-2) suffered the loss for UW-Whitewater, pitching 5.1 innings, allowing 10 hits, seven runs and one walk with three strikeouts.
The Warhawks, now 29-15 on the season, advanced to Saturday's championship game with a 13-6 victory over UW-Oshkosh Saturday afternoon.
Leavitt was 2-for-4 with a run scored versus UW-La Crosse.
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