St. Scholastica (27-4) at UWW (25-7) Tuesday at the Mills

It may be late in the regular season but baseball fans will want to be at James B. Miller Stadium in Whitewater Tuesday (5/3) afternoon when the College of St. Scholastica travels to UW-Whitewater for an intriguing non-conference doubleheader.

Both nationally ranked – CSS brings a gawdy 27 & 4 record into the twinbill. Despite splitting a four-game series at Oshkosh over the weekend, the Warhawks enter Tuesday’s action with a 25 & 7 mark.

UW-Whitewater and the College of St. Scholastica are no strangers on the diamond.

The two teams have met three times in NCAA Division III Midwest Regional action since 2005.

Last spring the Warhawks defeated the Saints 6-2 in second round regional action in Whitewater. In 2008 UW-Whitewater slid by St. Scholastica 7-4 on a very windy day at E.J. Schneider Field in Oshkosh. The Hawks also defeated the Saints 6-0 on the 2005 run the NCAA Division III Championship.

The College of St. Scholastica has absolutely dominated the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) baseball scene in recent years.

The Saints enter Tuesday’s non-conference doubleheader having won 14 consecutive conference titles and are a solid favorite two capture a 15th straight UMAC crown next week.

St. Scholastica tops the UMAC in hitting (.352 average), pitching (2.46 ERA) and fielding (.960 fielding percentage).

The Saints Kyle Moody and UW-Whitewater right fielder Danny Putnam enter Tuesday’s action as two of the top hitters in Division III this season.
Putnam has fallen below the .500 mark for the first time this spring. “Putt” is hitting a cool .489. Kyle Moody leads the Saints at .455.

CSS has a deep pitching with four pitchers sporting an ERA under one-run per game. The Saints two primary starters – Justin Kohls and Matt Lewis are both 7 & 0 on the season.

Jeff Donovan is 8 & 0 on the mound to pace UWW pitchers in 2011.

St. Scholastica also likes the stolen base. Joe Link is a perfect 36 of 36 swiping a base which is among the best in Division III. Putnam leads UWW with 23 stolen bases in 26 attempts.