WHITEWATER — The UW-Whitewater baseball team is two victories away from securing a berth in the NCAA Division III World Series.
The team standing in the Warhawks’ way needs no introduction. Fellow Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference member UW-La Crosse will be Whitewater’s opponent in the best 2-of-3 series Friday and Saturday at Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium on the Whitewater campus.
The Warhawks and Eagles played five games against each other this season.
UW-La Crosse won the first meeting of the season 6-1 in the first game of a regular-season doubleheader April 20.
The Warhawks won the next four games — the second game of the April 20 doubleheader, the next day’s doubleheader and the championship game of the WIAC Tournament on May 11. UW-Whitewater outscored UW-La Crosse in those four victories 54-13.
UW-Whitewater coach John Vodenlich has no concerns that his team will take the field feeling comfortable with its recent success against the Eagles.
“We all understand what a quality program they have,” Vodenlich said Wednesday morning. “For the most part, they have everybody returning from last year’s team, and last year, they beat up on us.”
The Eagles certainly did. UW-La Crosse swept consecutive doubleheaders at Whitewater in WIAC play by a combined 28-13 score.
In the WIAC Tournament, La Crosse beat Whitewater in the opener 14-4 in a game shortened by the mercy rule. After the Warhawks won their next two games to reach the championship round, the Eagles beat them for the sixth time 7-2 to win the tournament title and end Whitewater’s season.
“I know what a challenge it’s going to be,” Vodenlich said of this weekend. “The team knows it will be a challenge, but we are certainly going into this with confidence.”
The Warhawks are 38-8 and ranked No. 5 in the latest D3Baseball.com poll. The Warhawks are 16-3 at home this season, including three straight wins in last weekend’s regional.
The Warhawks have a potent offense and deep pitching staff. The Warhawks are hitting .353 as a team, while holding opponents to a .229 average.
The underclassmen trio of Matt Scolan, Eli Frank and Andy Thies lead the offensive charge.
Scolan, a 5-foot-9, 190-pound junior outfielder, leads the team with 14 homers and is second with 61 RBI. The left-handed hitter out of Downers Grove, Illinois, hit a two-run homer that was the difference in Sunday’s 6-4 victory over Centre (Kentucky) College that gave Whitewater the regional title.
Eli Frank leads the team with 77 hits, including 11 homers and 17 doubles. The 6-3, 235-pound junior first baseman/pitcher out of Bay Port has thrown 23 2/3 innings in both relief and as a spot starter.
Andy Thies, a sophomore second baseman, has hit 13 homers, including three in the regional last weekend. The 6-1, 200-pound Tallahassee, Florida, native leads the team with 63 RBI.
The pitching staff has four main starters in Michael Hilker Jr., Jack Hagen, Cade Behrendt and Max Hilker Jr., a 6-2 sophomore right-hander out of Yorkville, Illinois, is 8-0 with a 1.38 ERA and a WHIP of .77.
Hagen, a 6-3 freshman right-hander out of San Clemente, California, also is 8-0 as both a starter and reliever with a 3.02 ERA and a WHIP of 1.02.
Behrendt, a 6-1 senior left-hander out of Germantown, is 5-1 with a 3.90 ERA and a WHIP of 1.13.
Husebo, a 6-3 junior right-hander out of Ripon, is 5-2 with a 4.86 ERA and a WHIP of 1.20.
The No. 15-ranked Eagles (35-14) have a team batting average of .340 and opponents have hit for a .286 average.
The Warhawks are going after that eighth berth in the NCAA Division III World Series, which will be held for the first time in Eastlake, Ohio, beginning May 31. A UW-Whitewater squad has not made it to the World Series since 2016.
“It’s absolutely an exciting time,” Vodenlich said. “How we manage those emotions will be important.
“Our mantra all year has been, ‘Let’s play the game, not the opponent’ with the understanding it’s just a game,” the WIAC Coach of the Year said. “We have to reduce any undue pressure and just play.”
Rain is in the forecast for Friday. If the opener can not be played Friday, two games will be played Saturday starting at 11 a.m. A third game, if necessary, would be played Sunday.
NCAA DIVISION III SUPER REGIONAL
At Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium
(Best 2-of-3)
GAME FRIDAY
UW-La Crosse (35-14) vs. UW-Whitewater (38-8), noon
GAME(S) SATURDAY
UW-La Crosse vs. UW-Whitewater, 11 a.m.
UW-La Crosse vs. UW-Whitewater, 45 minutes after first game, if necessary
Tickets are $10 for adults; $8 for senior citizens and students
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