WHITEWATER – The No. 1 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team used a pair of strong pitching performances and solid offense Thursday afternoon for a doubleheader sweep over UW-Superior in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener for both teams at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium.
 
The Warhawks (12-1 overall, 2-0 WIAC) took the first game by a 9-1 count, then posted a 7-2 triumph in the second.
 
In Game 1, freshman pitcher Lake Bachar (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) tossed a seven-inning gem, and senior shortstop Mikole Pierce (DePere/DePere) tied a career high with five runs batted in and registered the first two-homer game of his career.
 
Bachar (2-0), a right-hander, allowed just one run on five hits and struck out five batters. Sophomore lefty John Olejniczak (Valparaiso, IN/Valparaiso) posted his first save of the year, tossing two hitless innings in relief after entering to start the eighth with a three-run lead.
 
Pierce, senior first baseman Casey Power (Ontario, Canada/Belle River) and senior catcher Mike Mierow (Brookfield/Central) recorded three hits apiece to lead the Warhawks. Freshman centerfielder Daytona Bryden (Rockton, IL/Hononegah) added two hits and scored a pair of runs.
 
After the Yellowjackets (3-11, 0-2) tallied a run in the top of the first, UW-Whitewater took the lead for good in the bottom half of the frame on Pierce's two-run home run to right center.
 
In the top of the fifth, Bachar stranded runners at the corners, and the Warhawks doubled their lead in the bottom half of the inning on a two-out double by Pierce.
 
Power tacked on another run in the seventh for UW-Whitewater with a two-out base hit to center field.
 
The Warhawks broke open a tight game with five runs in the bottom of the eighth. Freshman designated hitter Kyle Jones (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper) and Bryden registered run-scoring singles, and Pierce, with two outs, hit another two-run homer to right field.
 
In the nightcap, freshman right-hander Heath Renz (Jefferson, Wis./Jefferson) picked up his first win, allowing two runs on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in seven innings. Senior Andrew Lowe (Whiting, IN/Whiting) tossed two innings of scoreless relief.
 
Pierce, Power and sophomore third baseman Steve Chamberlain (Rockford, IL/Guilford) each tallied two hits to lead UW-Whitewater. Pierce finished with three RBIs, while Power knocked in two.
 
UW-Superior struck first again with two in the top of the first inning.
 
After its first 10 batters were retired in order, UW-Whitewater rallied with one out in the fourth. After hits by Chamberlain and Pierce put runners at second and third, Power knocked them both in with a single up the middle. Senior second baseman Adam Gregory (Edgerton/Edgerton) gave the Warhawks the lead for good, plating Power with an RBI single up the middle.
 
The Yellowjackets put two on with no outs in the top of the fifth, but Renz induced a ground ball, a pop up and a fly out to end the frame.
 
Pierce knocked his third two-run homer of the game and fifth of the season in the bottom of the sixth to give UW-Whitewater a 5-2 advantage.
 
Chamberlain and Pierce scored runs on ground balls in the bottom of the seventh to account for the final margin.
 
UW-Whitewater and UW-Superior resume action at Prucha Field at Miller Stadium tomorrow with a doubleheader starting at noon.