Hawks end 2011 conference season with Saturday split vs. UWL

The UW-Whitewater baseball team’s bid for an 8th WIAC title in the past ten years came up just short on Sunday. The Warhawks need to sweep UW-La Crosse and UW-Stevens Point to lose at least one game to UW-Stout.

The bid for the 2011 title ended with the Warhawks’ dropping game-one of Sunday’s doubleheader 3 to 1 to UWL.

(In the photo above is a view of the largest crowd of the season at James B. Miller Stadium as part of formal dedication ceremonies naming the Hawks' home facility for iconic former head baseball coach Jim "Mills" Miller - Tom Pattison Photo)

The Eagles took a 1-0 lead with a run in the 3rd inning. The Hawks tied the game with two outs in the bottom of the eighth when Jared Fon was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for the game-tying RBI.

Whitewater could not hold the lead as UWL third baseman Brett Jacobson drilled a two-run single for the game-winning runs in the La Crosse 9th inning.

Moments later word came from Stevens Point that the Pointers’ Sean Gerber hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to score Dan Douglas that would give the Pointers a 3-2 victory and clinch the Pointer’s first outright regular season baseball championship since 2002.

Game-two turned into one of the best pitching duels of the season for a game that really didn’t have an impact on the conference standings.

The game ended on Matt Beyer’s walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 13th inning.

UW-W's Jack Larsen hurled nine innings, giving up only four hits, walking one, and striking out five prior to giving way to Eric Schmitz to start the 10th.

Schmitz, a relief specialist, pitched four hitless innings and picked up his first win of the season.

UWL starting pitcher Garrett Scray gave up just one run before being lifted after giving up a double to UWW’s Travis Wessels in the 13th. Zach Lauersorf faced just one batter as Matt Beyer stroked a walk-off single to right-center to knock in Wessels with the “game-winner.”

The Warhawks will open the WIAC postseason tournament Friday morning at 10 a.m. vs. UW-Oshkosh in first-round action at University Field at UW-Stevens Point.

UWW still has work to do prior to the WIAC postseason tournament.

The Warhawks will play again on Tuesday in a non-conference doubleheader against Concordia University (WI) beginning at 1:00 on Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium in Whitewater.