Jason Hooper (Lake Mills/Lake Mills) pitched a no-hitter in the second game of a doubleheader sweep of UW-Stout on Sunday in Whitewater. Hooper struckout eight batters and walked three en route to the first no-hitter by a Warhawk pitcher since Todd Genke did it on April 7, 1993 against Carroll College. (Note: Adam Dominick and Steve Hedgepath did combine to pitch a no-hitter for UW-W on April 20, 2008 against UW-Superior). The 'Hawks won game one 10-3 and game two 5-0. The 'Hawks, ranked third in the latest American Baseball Coaches Association Top 25 poll, and seventh in the most recent D3baseball.com Top 25, improve to 18-1 overall and 6-0 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. UW-Stout falls to 6-11 overall and 1-5 in the WIAC.
Game one box score
Game two box score
Photo gallery - Leah Thyne
Photo gallery - Joy Kowald
Hooper was dominant in game two. He walked the second batter of the game and then retired the next thirteen before his next free pass. Hooper then sent the next nine batters back to the dugout before his final walk in the eighth inning. He retired the next three, and just as a no-hitter should end, Hooper struckout the final batter of the game.
Hooper is now 3-0 this season with a 1.52 ERA. He has worked 29.2 innings this season giving up just eighteen hits and five runs. He has fanned 33 batters while walking only eight. Hooper also pitched against Stout on Saturday in game one which makes his no-hitter even more impressive. He went four innings in Saturday's game in which the Warhawks won 21-6. That game ended after seven innings by virtue of the ten-run differential rule. Hooper earned the win in that game as well.
As for offense in game two, Jeff Donovan (Wauwatosa/East) drove in Jordan Stine (Merrill/Merrill ) in the third inning for one run, which was ultimately all the 'Hawks needed, but they added four more in the bottom of the seventh on a three RBI double by Ben Kuhlmann (Minneapolis, MN/Southwest) that went off of the top of the center field wall. Kuhlmann later scored on a single by designated hitter Ryan Leavitt (Merrill/Merrill).
Game one featured more hits and more runs for both teams but ended with the same result; a Warhawk win. Stout went up 1-0 in the top of the third but UW-W responded in the bottom of the inning with a run of their own to tie things up.
Five more runs for the 'Hawks in the bottom of the fourth gave them a 6-1 lead. Matt Beyer (Janesville/Parker) and Mike Kenseth (Milwaukee/West Allis Hale) drove in two runs a piece in the inning while Stine drove in the other run.
The Blue Devils tallied two runs in the top of the fifth but again the Warhawks retaliated with a run in the bottom of the fifth and three more in the bottom of the seventh.
Rob Coe (Appleton/North) went 3-for-3 in the game with one RBI and three runs. Stine, Kenseth and Nick Rechlitz (Milwaukee/Marquette) each had two hits in the game while Kenseth, Beyer and Leavitt had multiple RBIs.
Riley Tincher (Oregon/Oregon) got the start on the mound but worked only four and two-thirds innings. He struckout four and walked one while giving up just one earned run. Tincher gave way to Kyle Lee (Beaver Dam/Beaver Dam) who pitched three and two-thirds. Lee struckout four and notched the victory. Lee is 4-0 this season. Tincher also pitched five and two thirds innings on Friday at UW-Platteville. Tincher earned his sixth win in that game.
The Warhawks are off until Wednesday, April 14 when they travel to UW-Platteville for a twinbill beginning at 1:00 pm.
For additional information, John Vodenlich
