With the 2010 postseason getting underway next weekend, lets take a look at the four UW-Whitewater baseball teams that made it to the NCAA Division III World Series.
The Hawks first trip to the NCAA Division III “World Series” was back in 1989. The ’89 squad coaches by future hall-of-famer Jim Miller needed to get by archrival UW-Oshkosh in regional action in Oshkosh.
On the final day of regional action Oshkosh needed to beat the Warhawks twice to get back to the “World Series” for a sixth consecutive year.
The first “championship” game saw the Titans destroy Whitewater 36-10. Miller’s team was not fazed as it came back to beat Oshkosh 11-6 to punch the program’s first ticket to an NCAA Division III World Series. The 1989 NCAA Division III Championship was held in Bristol, Connecticut where the Hawks lost a tight 3-2 game to California State-Stanislaus in the opener and 5-2 to Johns Hopkins (Maryland) on day two. Whitewater finished the season with a 28 & 15 mark.
It would be 15 years later before the Warhawks would make it back to the “World Series.” The Hawks went through the Midwest Regional unbeaten at Prucha Field to earn the right to travel to Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton to play for a national title.
The Hawks opened play by losing 8-2 to Rowan (New Jersey). Whitewater responded with two consecutive wins – 8-1 over Salisbury (MD) and a 4-3 victory over SUNY-Brockport.
The following day the Warhawks appeared on the verge of making it to a championship match-up with George Fox (Oregon). The Hawks led Eastern Connecticut State 1-0 entering the bottom of the ninth inning. ECSU ended UWW’s championship run with a walk-off two-run home run with nobody out for a 2-1 victory. The Hawks went home with the 2004 third place trophy. The Hawks ended 2004 with a 39 & 9.
The 2005 Warhawk baseball team used the 2004 season as a springboard to bigger and better things. The ’05 team boasted incredible pitching depth on the way to a school record 45 wins.
Whitewater beat UW-Stevens Point 7-5 in the Regional to earn a return trip to Fox Cities Stadium.
The Warhawks swept Trinity (CT) 8-3, Chapman (CA) 7-6, Wooster (OH) 10-7 to advance to the championship game. The next day UW-Whitewater would earn the school’s first ever NCAA Division III Baseball Championship with a 10-4 victory over SUNY-Cortland. (see adjacent photo)
The Warhawks last championship run occurred in 2008.
Whitewater advanced to the 2008 NCAA Division III “World Series” with a 21-13 regional final victory over St. Scholastica (MN) on a windy day in Oshkosh.
The Warhawks lost its opening game at Fox Cities Stadium 5-1 at the hands of Linfield (OR). Having to advance through the “loser’s” bracket, the Hawks went on a three game winning streak beating SUNY-Cortland 10-2, Chapman (CA) 7-4.
The following day Whitewater would have to win two games to advance to the championship. The Warhawks won the first of the games 13-11 over Adrian (MI). The next game would be another slugfest as the Hawks fell to Johns-Hopkins (MD) 12-11 resulting in the Hawks to finish third for the second time in four years. The Hawks ended 2004 with a 42 & 10 record.
This year’s Warhawks will take a 35 & 4 record into the postseason. Whitewater will host both the WIAC postseason tournament and the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional.
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