WHITEWATER – The No. 1 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team rode hot pitching and timely hitting Monday to a two-game sweep of St. Scholastica (Minn.) in a non-conference doubleheader at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium.
 
The Warhawks (10-1 overall) took the first game by a 4-0 score before emerging with a 4-1 victory in Game 2. The contests were the first played at Miller Stadium in 2015.
 
In the second game, senior left-hander Colin Grove (Beloit/Memorial) improved to 3-0 with a seven-inning outing as the starter. He allowed just five hits and struck out six before giving way to freshman righty Lake Bachar (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North), who registered his first save with a scoreless two-inning stint.
 
Senior first baseman Casey Power (Ontario, Canada/Belle River), senior third baseman Adam Gregory (Edgerton/Edgerton), freshman right fielder Will Helbing (Waunakee, Wis./Waunakee) and freshman second baseman Jordan Kuczynski (Germantown/Germantown) totaled two hits apiece to lead UW-Whitewater.
 
After the Saints (11-6) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Warhawks responded in the bottom half as Power registered a two-out, run-scoring single to centerfield to tie the game.
 
Helbing put UW-Whitewater ahead by one with a single through the right side, and Kuczynski doubled the Warhawks' advantage with an RBI groundout.
 
Senior catcher Mike Mierow (Brookfield/Central) added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh with a ground ball to second base, reaching on an error to make it 4-1.
 
In the opener, UW-Whitewater tallied four runs in the bottom of the eighth to break open a scoreless game.
 
Junior Curtis Morgan (Green Lake/Green Lake), sophomore John Olejniczak (Valparaiso, IN/Valparaiso), freshman Heath Renz (Jefferson, Wis./Jefferson) and sophomore Mike Nompleggi (Oconto Falls/Oconto Falls) combined for the six-hit shutout.
 
Morgan tossed 5 2/3, allowing just four hits while striking out two. Olejniczak (2-0) picked up the win, throwing 2 1/3 innings of relief. Nompleggi recorded the final out of the game for his second save of the year.
 
The Saints loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the second, but Morgan pitched out of the jam, sandwiching a pair of groundouts around a strikeout to keep St. Scholastica off the board.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Helbing smashed a double down the right field line with two outs, but was left stranded. The Saints put a runner at second with two outs in the top of the sixth, but Olejniczak entered for Morgan with two outs and induced a fly-out to end the frame.
 
After leaving runners in scoring position in the sixth and seventh, the Warhawks broke through in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, freshman centerfielder Daytona Bryden (Rockton, IL/Hononegah) and senior left fielder Kyle Haen (Madison/Edgewood) drew back-to-back walks. Following a pitching change, Pierce hit his second triple of the year to deep right center to plate both runners. Power lined a shot over the left field fence for his second homer of the year to double the UW-Whitewater lead.
 
The Saints loaded the bases to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs in the top of the ninth, but Nompleggi forced a lineout to center to end the contest.
 
The Warhawks return to action at The Mill Thursday at noon for a doubleheader against UW-Superior.