The No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team clinched a spot in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Saturday with a sweep over UW-Stout in a conference doubleheader in Menomonie, Wis.
 
The Warhawks (28-7 overall, 16-6 WIAC) need one win Sunday in a doubleheader against the Blue Devils to clinch a share of the WIAC regular season championship. With two wins, UW-Whitewater would claim the conference title outright and host the WIAC Tournament.
 
The Warhawks defeated UW-Stout (17-20, 5-17) 10-4 in the first game and won the nightcap 6-1.
 
In the opener, freshman pitcher Lake Bachar (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) tossed a complete-game three-hitter and UW-Whitewater tallied 14 hits and plated six unanswered runs to start the contest.
 
Bachar (5-1), a right-hander, struck out six and generated 13 ground-ball outs.
 
Each of the Warhawks' first five hitters collected two hits. Senior second baseman Nick Kuhlmann (Minneapolis, MN/Minneapolis Southwest) reached base on all six of his plate appearances. Senior left fielder Trey Cannon (Palatine, IL/Palatine), senior shortstop Mikole Pierce (DePere/DePere), senior first baseman Casey Power (Ontario, Canada/Belle River) and sophomore third baseman Steve Chamberlain (Rockford, IL/Guilford) each joined Kuhlmann in the two-hit column.
 
The Warhawks tallied three times in the top of the first to take an early lead. Pierce scored the first run with a double to right field, and Chamberlain doubled the lead two batters later with an infield single. Pierce came around to score on a groundout.
 
Cannon made it 4-0 in the top of the second with a sacrifice fly. He knocked in another run in the fourth with a one-out base hit.
 
Senior catcher Mike Mierow (Brookfield/Central) tacked on a run in the fifth with a run-scoring single up the middle.
 
After the Blue Devils drew to within 6-4 following a four-run sixth, UW-Whitewater responded with three runs in the top of the seventh. With two outs, senior right fielder Kyle Haen (Madison/Edgewood) drew a bases-loaded walk and Kuhlmann followed with a two-run base hit to right.
 
Pierce led off the top of the eighth with a solo homer, his seventh of the year, to account for the final margin.
 
In Game 2, sophomore right-hander Mike Nompleggi (Oconto Falls/Oconto Falls) pitched a complete game and the Warhawks broke open a two-run lead with three in the top of the eighth.
 
Nompleggi (4-0) registered five strikeouts and allowed just six hits in his first complete game of the year.
 
Power and senior designated hitter Adam Gregory (Edgerton/Edgerton) had three hits apiece to lead UW-Whitewater, which finished with 14 hits. Power and Pierce each knocked in two runs.
 
The four-game series concludes Sunday with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.