Number one UW-Whitewater and twenty-seventh ranked UW-Stevens Point didn't settle anything Saturday.  The first and second place teams in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference split a doubleheader, Whitewater winning 7-5 and Point taking game two 12-1 in eight innings.  The split leaves UW-W with a two game lead on the Pointers with eight games to go.  Two of those will be a rematch Sunday, with UW-W hosting the Pointers at Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium beginning at 12:00.

Photo Gallery (Tim Gumz)

UW-Whitewater 7, UW-Stevens Point 5
game one box score

Jeff Donovan (Wauwatosa/East)'s first inning home run, his team-leading eighth of the season, gave UW-Whitewater a lead it never relinquished.  

The Pointers tied the game in the top of the third.  Centerfielder Dan Douglas singled with one out, shortstop Eric Fritz doubled him to third, and third baseman Justin Jirschele brought Douglas in with a single.

UW-W scored single runs in the fifth and sixth.  Left fielder Tim Conroy (Barrington, IL/Barrington) was hit by a pitch, third baseman Nick Rechlitz (Milwaukee/Marquette) singled, and both moved up a base on a passed ball.  Right fielder Daniel Putnam (Ashland /Ashland) knocked in Conroy for the fifth inning score.  Point also helped out in the sixth, after center fielder Jordan Stine (Merrill/Merrill ) led off with a double he advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a ground out to make it 3-1 Whitewater after six.

The Warhawks put some more numbers on the board in the seventh.  Rechlitz led off with a single and moved up two bases when DH Ryan Leavitt (Merrill/Merrill) reached on an error.  Rechlitz came in on a ground out.  Donovan walked and moved to third on Stine's single, which scored Leavitt, and second baseman Ben Kuhlmann (Minneapolis, MN/Southwest) brought in the third tally with a sacrifice fly to give UW-W a 6-1 lead.

Point did not let UW-W get comfortable, coming back with four runs in the top of the eighth.  Three singles, the third by right fielder Brad Archambeau, brought in the first run.  DH Sam Spurney singled in the next two, and pinch-hitter Jordan Rennicke plated run number four with a single.  That cut Whitewater's lead to 6-5 going in to the bottom of the eighth.

UW-W ended the scoring in the bottom of the eighth.  Shortstop Mike Kenseth (Milwaukee/West Allis Hale) walked, moved to third on a double by pinch-hitter Travis Wessels (Tomah/Tomah), and scored on a sacrifice fly by Rechlitz.

Junior lefty Riley Tincher (Oregon/Oregon) remained undefeated, upping his mark to 9-0 with seven and a third innings of work.  He allowed eight hits and four earned runs, walking none and striking out six.  Sophomore righty Ben Versnik (West Allis/Hale) picked up his sixth save of the season.

Stine and Rechlitz had two hits apiece for UW-W.  Point was paced by Fritz, Jirschele and Spurney, each with a pair of hits.  Tyler Lorenz, 4-3, took the loss.


UW-Stevens Point 12, UW-Whitewater 1 (eight innings)
game two box score

Stevens Point scored in six of the eight innings to cruise to the win, decided by the WIAC's run differential rule.

The Pointers jumped out quickly, with Archambeau doubling in a run in the first.  Two innings later they added three more.  First baseman Jeremy Richter singled two, including the game winner, and UW-W gave one away on a bases loaded walk.  

UW-SP continued to add on, pushing across four more in the fourth.  Jirschele singled one in, Rennicke singled in two, and the fourth run of the inning came in on a Spurney single.  Point led 8-0 after three and a half.

Jirschele singled in another run in the fifth, and Spurney hit his third homer of the season in the sixth to up the margin to 10-0.

Whitewater kept the game alive with a run in the bottom of the sixth, with catcher Rob Coe (Appleton/North) singling in the Warhawks' only run.

Spurney doubled in the final two runs for UW-SP in the top of the eighth, and Whitewater did not score in their half of the inning to end the game.

Senior right-hander Jason Hooper (Lake Mills/Lake Mills), 3-2, took the loss for UW-W.  The Warhawks used four pitchers in the game.  Second baseman Ben Kuhlmann (Minneapolis, MN/Southwest) went 3x4 to lead Warhawk hitters, his twelfth multiple hit game of the season for UW-W. 

Joel Delorit, a junior lefty, upped his record to 4-3 with a complete game.  Jirschele went 4x5 for the Pointers.

Miscellaneous
UW-Whitewater is 26-3 overall and 14-2 in the WIAC.  Stevens Point is 21-8. and 10-4 in league play.  The teams will play again Sunday.

UW-W senior Jordan Stine (Merrill/Merrill ) had two hits in each game, givng him a team high thirteen multiple hit games for the season, tied with Jeff Donovan (Wauwatosa/East).  

For additional information:  John Vodenlich, UW-W head coach