Baseball

UW-Whitewater Wins Baseball Tournament Title

**UW-Whitewater Sports Information contributed to this recap

WHITEWATER, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Whitewater won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Baseball Tournament (presented by Culver’s) with an 11-9 triumph over UW-La Crosse at Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium on May 9.
 
It is the third straight conference tournament title for UW-Whitewater (41-4) and 10th in program history. The Warhawks also secured an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III championship with the win.

UW-La Crosse (32-12) took a 3-0 lead after an inning & a half. Dominik McVay got the Warhawks on the board with a solo home run in the bottom of the second. 

After a scoreless inning, McVay struck again, hitting his second home run of the game to tie the game up at 3-3. Andy Thies plated a runner with a fielder's choice, but an Eagles error trying to turn the double play allowed Danny Hopper to move up two bases to put the Warhawks up 5-3. 

UW-La Crosse tied the game back up with two runs in the top of the fifth, but the lead didn't last long, with another two-run inning for the Warhawks. Wyatt Jensen had a run-scoring single thru the left side, with another scoring on an error by UW-La Crosse. 

Maintaining a two-run lead, the Warhawks found themselves in a jam with bases loaded & no one out. UW-Whitewater turned a double-play, but the Eagles scored a run on the play to cut the margin to 7-6. 

The Warhawks were able to re-extend the margin to three runs in the seventh, with Aaron Holland hitting an RBI single. Evan Olson brought in Holland with a two-out triple to put the Warhawks up 9-6.

In the eighth inning, the Warhawks tacked on two more runs to push the lead to 11-6. Danny Hopper & Holland had back-to-back RBI singles with two outs to give UW-Whitewater insurance runs.

In the top of the ninth, UW-La Crosse’s Sam Viniard belted a three-run homer down the right field line to cut the lead to 11-9. Jackson Koenig closed the door, striking out the final two batters to clinch the victory.

Benjy Tucker earned the win, pitching 1.1 innings of relief, allowing just a single hit.
 
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