The Warhawks scored early and often as they defeated Carthage College 24-3 at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Regional at E.J. Schneider Field in Oshkosh, Wisconsin Thursday. The Warhawks advance to play St. Thomas University at 10:00 am Friday, May 16. The tournament uses a double-elimination format and neither team has lost a game in the regional. UW-Whitewater post-season website. NCAA regional host website.
Box Score
A grand-slam by Joe Munn (Pleasanton, CA/Pleasanton) in the bottom of the third highlighted an eight-run inning by the Warhawks. The Warhawks scored the eight runs on five hits and two Carthage errors. The eight-run inning is the second highest scoring inning by the Warhawks this season. UW-W scored fourteen in the fourth inning of a 20-17 win over UW-Stout on April 14. That same 20-17 victory over UW-Stout was the only other time this season that the Warhawks made it to the twenty-run mark.
A six-run fourth was started by a Billy Johnson (Kenosha/Kenosha Tremper) single with the bases loaded that scored three. Johnson scored later in the inning on a Ben Kuhlmann (Minneapolis, MN/Southwest) single to center field. Two more runs crossed home plate on a Jeff Donovan (Wauwatosa/Wauwatosa East) single. The sixth inning featured three unearned runs and an RBI from Ben Prather (Chicago, IL/James B. Conant). The seventh and eighth innings include four-RBI singles by three different Warhawks.
A two-run fifth, four-run sixth, two-run seventh and two-run eighth were enough for the Warhawks to win by twenty-one runs. The largest winning margin by a Warhawk team is twenty-eight runs, accomplished in a 1997 victory over Carroll College.
The Warhawks used twenty players, had thirteen batters record a hit; seven of them with multiple hits. Six UW-W players recorded multiple RBIs with only one home run being hit, Munn's grand slam. Leading the way in the offensive explosion was Munn, who went 2x4 and drove in five, Mike Kenseth (Milwaukee/West Allis Hale) who went 4x6 while scoring two runs, and Prather who went 3x5, scoring three and driving in three.
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference pitcher of the year, Adam Dominick (Waukesha/Waukesha West), pitched five strong innings for UW-W striking out five and surrendering only two hits to move to 10-2 this season. Greg Donovan (Wauwatosa/Wauwatosa East) and Randy Johnson (Kenosha/Kenosha Tremper) came on in relief and combined to hold the Red Men to eight hits and three runs. Trace Ruffie notched the loss for Carthage and is now 6-1 this season.
The twenty-four runs is the third time in post-season history that the Warhawks eclipsed the twenty-run mark, and is the most runs ever in a post-season game. They first did it back in 1990 when the Warhawks defeated Simpson College 21-3 at Prucha Field in their first game of the NCAA Midwest Regional. They also surpassed the twenty-run mark in a 22-7 victory over Concordia University in 2004 at Prucha Field in the NCAA Midwest Regional.
The Warhawks are now 37-8 this season and Carthage drops to 36-9. Carthage moves on to face the College of St. Scholastica (33-5) at 1:00 pm Friday.
For additional information:
John Vodenlich, UW-W head coach, 262-472-1420
UW-W baseball website
