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WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The No. 4 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team scored a pair of early runs to make a dominant pitching performance hold up Tuesday in a 3-1 triumph over Clarkson (N.Y.) in the team's fifth game at the RussMatt Invitational at Chain of Lakes Stadium.
 
Junior pitcher Austin Jones (Wauwatosa, Wis./West) retired the last 15 batters he faced to finish off a complete-game, two-hitter. The right-hander surrendered only one run and struck out a pair and didn't allow another base runner after a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fifth.
 
The Warhawks (8-1 overall) plated two runs in the top of the second. With one out, sophomore catcher Mike Aiello (Racine, Wis./Horlick) plated junior right fielder Will Helbing (Waunakee, Wis./Waunakee), who doubled to start the threat, with a run-scoring base hit. Senior shortstop Jordan Kuczynski (Germantown/Germantown), who walked one batter earlier, also scored on the play on a throwing error by the Golden Knights (2-4).
 
Clarkson cut its deficit in half in the bottom of the third after a leadoff walk came around to score on a wild pitch.
 
After Jones pitched around a two-base error in the bottom of the fourth, UW-Whitewater added a run in the top of the fifth as sophomore left fielder Matt Wary (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) singled to lead off the frame, advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt and scored on a wild pitch.
 
Jones ran into trouble with a runner on second and one out in the bottom of the fifth, but ended the frame with a fly ball in foul territory and a comebacker.
 
The Warhawks mustered only one hit the rest of the way, but Jones didn't need the offensive production, capping off a dominant performance with a quick bottom of the ninth to improve to 3-0 on the year.
 
UW-Whitewater concludes its spring trip Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. Central Time against Union (N.Y.) at Lake Myrtle Park in Auburndale, Fla.