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The No. 5 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team won its first two games Friday at the 2021 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship Presented by Culver's to advance to the title game of the conference tournament.
 
The Warhawks (36-5 overall), the tournament's No. 2 seed, edged third-seeded UW-La Crosse 5-4 in the first game of the day, and followed up the performance with a 10-0 triumph in seven innings against No. 4 seed UW-Stout to cap the day.
 
UW-Whitewater will play in the WIAC championship game at 3 p.m. Saturday against the winner of the UW-Stout/UW-Stevens Point game that starts the day at 12 p.m. With a loss, the Warhawks would play the same team again Sunday at 12 p.m. in a winner-take-all contest.
 
In the opener against UW-La Crosse (30-12), the Warhawks knocked three solo home runs, including a walk-off shot by second baseman Sam Vomhof (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. Third baseman Tucker Criswell (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles) and first baseman Donovan Brandl (Rudolph, Wis./Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln) provided the other homers as part of a two-run third that gave UW-W a 4-3 lead.
 
After three scoreless frames, the Eagles tied the game at 4-4 with a run in the top of the seventh, and neither team scored again until Vomhof sent a shot opposite field over the left field fence for his first long ball of the season.
 
Shortstop Nick Santoro (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) plated the remaining two runs for the Warhawks on a two-out, two-run triple in the bottom of the second. Left fielder Matt Korman (Waterford, Wis./Waterford Union) reached base three times with one hit and two walks and scored one run.
 
Pitcher Connor Spear (Highland, Ind./Mount Carmel (Ill.)) earned the win in relief to improve to 6-0 on the year, tossing a pair of scoreless frames. Matt O'Sullivan (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) started the game and allowed four runs (three earned) with six strikeouts over seven innings. Spear and O'Sullivan combined to strand 11 UW-L runners in the affair.
 
In the nightcap against UW-Stout, UW-Whitewater touched home plate four times in the bottom of the third inning and five times in the bottom of the seventh. Korman lifted a two-run home run to deep left field to end the contest by run rule.
 
Criswell joined Korman with two RBIs to lead the Warhawk offense. Centerfielder Zach Campbell (Burlington, Wis./Burlington) registered two hits, one run scored and one RBI, and Santoro collected three hits and two runs scored. Vomhof and Brandl each finished with two hits and two runs scored.
 
Righgt fielder Jacob DeMeyer (Harshaw, Wis./Rhinelander) and pinch hitter Connor Moroder (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee) plated one run apiece for UW-W.
 
Westin Muir (Highlands Ranch, Colo./St. Charles North (Ill.)) tossed all seven innings to improve to 8-1 for the season, not allowing a hit after the first batter of the game. He walked one hitter and struck out a season-high 11 batters as part of his efficient performance.