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LA CROSSE, Wis. – The No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team suffered its first loss in an NCAA Tournament opener since 2001, falling 15-7 against Ripon on the first day of the NCAA Midwest Regional at Copeland Park.
 
With the loss, the No. 1 seed Warhawks (33-10 overall) will take on fourth-seeded St. John's (Minn.) in an elimination game Thursday at 10 a.m.
 
UW-Whitewater led 2-1 after two innings before Ripon (24-14) scored 12 unanswered runs to take a commanding lead.
 
Senior left fielder Trey Cannon (Palatine, IL/Palatine) and senior catcher Mike Mierow (Brookfield/Central) registered two hits apiece to lead the Warhawks. Mierow and sophomore third baseman Steve Chamberlain (Rockford, IL/Guilford) each knocked in two runs.
 
Sophomore right-hander Mike Nompleggi (Oconto Falls/Oconto Falls) was dealt his first loss of the year, dropping to 5-1 after starting and tossing 3 2/3 innings. Sophomore lefty John Olejniczak (Valparaiso, IN/Valparaiso) pitched 1/3 of an inning before being relieved by junior RHP Curtis Morgan (Green Lake/Green Lake), who pitched the final five frames.
 
After the Red Hawks plated an unearned run in the top of the first, the Warhawks took a 2-1 advantage in the bottom of the third. Senior designated hitter Adam Gregory (Edgerton/Edgerton) dropped a one-out single into center to score freshman centerfielder Daytona Bryden (Rockton, IL/Hononegah) to tie the game. Two batters later, senior second baseman Nick Kuhlmann (Minneapolis, MN/Minneapolis Southwest) put UW-Whitewater ahead with a two-out base hit to left to plate Gregory from second.
 
Ripon totaled three in the top of the third to take the lead for good.
 
Mierow hit his second homer of the season in the bottom of the seventh, knocking a deep fly ball down the left field line that hit off the top of the fence and out.
 
UW-Whitewater added four runs in the bottom of the eighth, highlighted by a sharp two-run single through the left side by Chamberlain. Mierow and senior shortstop Mikole Pierce (DePere/DePere) also contributed RBI hits in the frame.