The No. 22 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team got off to a quick start Tuesday but was unable to hold the lead in a 6-5 setback against Elmhurst (Ill.) in its final game at the RussMatt Invitational in Auburndale, Fla.
The Warhawks (5-5 overall) scored three runs in the first inning, but the Bluejays tallied six unanswered runs over the next six frames and held off a late UW-W rally.
Sophomore shortstop
Nick Santoro (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) posted four hits and one run scored, and senior designated hitter
Mike Aiello (Racine, Wis./Horlick) finished with two hits, including an inside-the-park homer. Senior second baseman
Nick Schrader (Cambridge, Wis./Jefferson) registered one hit, one run scored and one run batted in, and senior third baseman
Cal Aldridge (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) and junior centerfielder
Alex Doud (Waukesha, Wis./Mukwonago) each plated one run.
Three UW-Whitewater pitchers combined to allow only one earned run in the contest. Sophomore
Westin Muir (St. Charles, Ill./North) tossed the first five innings, collecting seven strikeouts along the way. Junior
Keith Kutzler (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper) took the loss to drop to 0-1 on the year, pitching 1 2/3 innings of relief. Senior
Jim Perkins (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove) didn't allow a run over the final 1 1/3 frames.
Schrader started the scoring in the top of the first with a double to score Santoro. Doud knocked a sacrifice fly to right to make it 2-0, and Aiello hit a ball to right center and came all the way around to score for a home run and a three-run advantage.
Elmhurst tallied two runs in the second, one in the fourth and three in the sixth to take a three-run lead.
The Warhawks answered in the seventh as freshman catcher
Ryan Norton (Fond du Lac, Wis./Fond du Lac) scored on a wild pitch, and Aldridge hit a sacrifice fly to left to make it a one-run game.
UW-Whitewater loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, but the Bluejays escaped on a flyout.
The Warhawks are scheduled to return to action this Saturday with a doubleheader against St. Scholastica (Minn.). First pitch at Miller Stadium is slated for 1 p.m.