Related Links:
WIAC Championship website
Printable Bracket
WIAC Statistics

The No. 2/3 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team captured its 17th Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season title last weekend, thus earning the No. 1 seed and the right to host the WIAC Championship Friday, May 12th to Saturday, May 13th. The Warhawks will host #2 UW-La Crosse, #3 UW-Stevens Point and #4 UW-Oshkosh in a double-elimination tournament beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium.

The Warhawks, 32-6 overall, are in search of their fifth WIAC Championship with the previous four coming in 2003, 2004, 2010 and 2014. The Warhawks will play the second game of the tournament at 1 p.m. against UW-Oshkosh. The winner will play the winner of the first game between UW-Stevens Point and UW-La Crosse at 7 p.m. while the losers will face-off in an elimination game at 4 p.m.

A schedule and up-to-date results can be found at the WIAC Championship website.
 
Ticket prices for the weekend are as follows:
Adults: $5
Seniors/Youth: $3
WIAC Students with ID: Free
Children under 2 years old: Free

The winner of the tournament will receive the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III tournament.

The Warhawks opened the season going 9-1 on their spring trip before returning to Wisconsin for the remainder of their schedule. UW-W won 12 of its next 14 games including four-game sweeps of conference foes UW-La Crosse and UW-Stout.

Following a series split with UW-Stevens Point, the Warhawks topped UW-Platteville four times at home before traveling to Oshkosh for a pivotal series with the Titans. A four-game sweep on the road clinched the WIAC regular season title and the Warhawks concluded their schedule with a doubleheader sweep of St. Norbert.

Amid the excitement of the last week, head coach John Vodenlich earned his 500th victory at UW-Whitewater. He is now tied for third in WIAC history with UW-Oshkosh's Russ Tiedemann with 501 wins at a conference school and owns 530 for his career.

Leadoff hitter Daytona Bryden (Rockton, IL/Hononegah) has played in 14 of the last 16 games, including 13 starts. He is leading the team with a .386 batting average and .737 slugging percentage. The junior centerfielder has also belted five home runs this season, third most on the team.

Junior outfielder Brett Krause (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) and senior second baseman Steve Chamberlain (Rockford, IL/Guilford) have started every game for the Warhawks this season. Krause is first on the team with 55 hits and tied for first with 38 runs and two triples. He is also hitting .377, second best in the lineup. Chamberlain adds some power from the cleanup spot leading the team with seven homers and 35 RBIs. He is second on the team with a .549 slugging percentage and third with a .361 batting average.

Four other everyday starters are also batting over .300 this season - senior shortstop Jordan Kuczynski (Germantown/Germantown) (.338), sophomore third baseman Cal Aldridge (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) (.328), junior first baseman Blake Fleischman (Germantown, Wis./Germantown)n (.324) and sophomore utility player Matt Wary (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) (.311). Fleischmann leads the squad with 10 doubles and Wary has the most stolen bases with 13.

On the mound, the Warhawks have a solid rotation led by juniors Heath Renz (Jefferson, Wis./Jefferson) and Austin Jones (Wauwatosa, Wis./West). Renz is 7-0 this season with a team low 1.58 ERA. He has thrown two complete games and 57 innings, allowing an opponent batting average of just .209. Jones is 7-2 with a 1.96 ERA and leads the team in innings pitched (69.0) and strikeouts (68). He holds his opponents to a paltry .203 batting average.

For the Warhawks to earn their fifth WIAC Championship crown, they will need a consistent performance at the plate and off the mound.

A statistical comparison of participating teams is below (conference games only):

Team	Avg.	Runs	Hits	2B	3B	HR	BB	ERA	E
#1 UW-Whitewater	.325	157	230	34	2	26	64	2.66	22
#2 UW-La Crosse	.261	84	175	24	5	6	68	3.45	30
#3 UW-Stevens Point	.252	112	167	22	5	10	71	4.71	17
#4 UW-Oshkosh	.278	117	186	38	6	7	95	4.30	37

* leader in BOLD