The No. 14 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team used solid pitching and a seven-run fifth inning Thursday to defeat Augustana College (Ill.) 15-3 on the second day of the NCAA Division III Central Regional in Sauget, Ill. at GCS Ballpark.
 
Sophomore right-hander Lake Bachar (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) pitched his way to a win for the Warhawks (31-14 overall), allowing just two runs on four hits while striking out four.
 
Juniors Ankur Shah (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) and Austin Finn (Oconomowoc/Kettle Moraine) each tossed an inning of relief, while senior Connor Hurst (Waunakee/Waunakee) got the final three outs of the ball game in the ninth inning.
 
Junior short stop Jordan Kuczynski (Germantown/Germantown) and junior second baseman Steve Chamberlain (Rockford, IL/Guilford) each finished the afternoon with four hits apiece. Chamberlain led the team in runs scored with two, while Kuczynski led the team with three runs batted in.
 
Freshman left fielder Matt Wary (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) finished 3-for-6 at the plate, with two runs scored and a run batted in. Sophomore center fielder Daytona Bryden (Rockton, IL/Hononegah) and freshman third baseman Cal Aldridge (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) each posted two hits including solo home runs apiece. Joining Bryden and Aldridge in the home run category was sophomore right fielder Austin Jones (Wauwatosa, Wis./West) who hit a three-run blast in the fifth inning.
 
The Warhawks struck first scoring three runs in the top of the first inning to take the early lead but the Vikings responded with a two run third inning to make the score 4-2.
 
UW-Whitewater came right back in the next half inning plating two runs on a couple of Viking errors to increase the lead to 6-2, before Bachar shut Augustana down in the bottom of the fourth.
 
Aldridge led off the top of the fifth inning with his solo shot to deep right center, but the Warhawks weren't done yet. Another Viking error allowed another run to score before Jones hit his three-run shot to right field and put this game out of reach for good.
 
UW-Whitewater advances to tomorrows third round match up against the winner of the Washington University vs. Rose-Hulman game which concludes tonight. First pitch for tomorrow's game is set for 12 p.m. Central Standard Time.