Ben Kuhlmann's bases loaded single over a drawn in outfield gave UW-Whitewater a 6-5 win over UW-Platteville in the first game of a doubleheader at Prucha Field in Whitewater Wednesday afternoon. The win gave UW-W head coach John Vodenlich his 200th win in his sixth season at the school. Game two was suspended going in to the top of the ninth inning with Whitewater leading 7-5. That game will be finished at 12:30 before the teams' regularly scheduled doubleheader April 29 in Whitewater.
box score game one
photo gallery (credit: Joy Kowald)
Mike Kenseth singled in two runs in the second to put UW-W in front 2-0 in game one. Platteville cut the margin in half with a solo run in the fifth, but Kuhlmann got his first RBI single in the bottom of the third to make it 3-1.
The Pioneers grabbed the lead on designated hitter Shawn Tobie's bases loaded double, bringing in three to make it 4-3 Platteville.
Whitewater used two UW-P errors to score without the benefit of a hit in the bottom of the sixth, tying the game at 4-4. Another Pioneer error helped put UW-W in front 5-4, again without a hit, in the bottom of the eighth. With one out in the ninth the second batter up, second baseman Jason Jacobson, tied the game with his fifth home run of the season.
In the twelfth Matt Beyer led UW-W off with a single, then was awarded second when he ran in to a Pioneer fielder in a rundown. Ryan Leavitt moved Beyer to third with a sacrifice, and reached first when the throw to third was late. Sam Petrasko was intentionally walked to load bases to set the stage for Kuhlman's game winning hit.
Aaron Dott, 5-3, picked up the win with three and two thirds innings of hitless relief. Whitewater totaled just seven hits, with Kuhlmann and Kenseth leading the way with two each. Platteville had eight hits in the game, with no individual player with more than one.
The win put Vodenlich at 200-65-1 in his tenure with the Warhawks. He is second to Jim Miller, who Vodenlich played for and served as an assistant coach, in total victories all-time in UW-W baseball.
UW-Whitewater is ranked twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth in the two national polls of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III teams. The Warhawks are 19-9 overall and 11-6, in first place, in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The Warhawks will play doubleheaders at UW-Stout in Menomonie Saturday and Sunday, both starting at 12:00. The next home games will be another twinbill with UW-Platteville Wednesday, April 29 beginning at 1:00 at Prucha Field. Prucha Field is west of Perkins Stadium and north of Williams Center on the north end of the UW-W campus. Free parking is adjacent to the field.
For additional information: John Vodenlich, UW-W coach
