Related Links:
O'Sullivan Headlines 2021 WIAC Baseball Award Winners (story from May 26)
NCAA Whitewater Regional Web Page
NCAA Division III Baseball Web Page
 
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team will begin play in the NCAA Division III Whitewater Regional this Thursday at 2:30 p.m. as it takes on Luther (Iowa) at Prucha Field at James B. Miller Stadium.
 
The Warhawks (37-5 overall) are the No. 2 seed in the regional, while Luther is the fifth seed. Other regional participants include No. 1 Adrian (Mich.), No. 3 Texas Lutheran, No. 4 Penn State Harrisburg and No. 6 Salem State (Mass.).
 
The winner of Thursday's Luther/UW-Whitewater game will advance to face the winner of the Penn State Harrisburg/Texas Lutheran game on Friday at 6 p.m. The loser will play the Salem State/Adrian loser in an elimination game Friday at 11 a.m.
 
The rest of the weekend's schedule will be determined by Thursday's and Friday's results.
 
How UW-Whitewater Got Here
 
The Warhawks earned a Pool A, or automatic, bid to the NCAA Tournament thanks to winning the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship for the seventh time in program history. This year's NCAA field includes 42 automatic qualifiers and six at-large, or Pool C, bids.
 
UW-W posted a 3-0 record in the conference tournament, including a 13-9 victory over UW-Stevens Point in the title game. The Warhawks tallied 17 hits for the game and scored four runs in the seventh inning, all with two outs, to take the lead for good.
 
Centerfielder Zach Campbell (Burlington, Wis./Burlington) provided the go-ahead, two-run double, and Matt Korman (Waterford, Wis./Waterford Union) homered in the bottom of the eighth to provide three key insurance runs. Relief pitcher Kade Lancour (Nekoosa, Wis./Nekoosa) earned the win, and Donovan Brandl (Rudolph, Wis./Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln) pitched the final 1 1/3 innings for the save.
 
UW-Whitewater was the No. 2 seed in the WIAC Tournament after sharing the league's regular season title, the team's fourth straight and 19th overall, with a 24-4 conference record.
 
Warhawks in the Rankings
 
UW-Whitewater remained fifth in the latest D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25 for Week 14. Other ranked teams in the Whitewater Regional include No. 10 Adrian and No. 24 Texas Lutheran. Luther is receiving votes.
 
The Warhawks were most recently second in the NCAA Midwest Regional Ranking. Adrian was No. 1 in the Mideast, Texas Lutheran was third in the West, Penn State Harrisburg was third in the Mid-Atlantic and Luther was eighth in the Central.
 
UW-Whitewater in the NCAA Tournament
 
The Warhawks will make their 13th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 23rd appearance in program history. UW-W is 69-42 (.622 winning percentage) all time in the national tournament as an NCAA Division III member.
 
UW-Whitewater has made seven appearances in the NCAA Division III World Series – 1989, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016. The Warhawks also reached the World Series as a member of the NAIA in 1965.
 
UW-W earned its first national championship in 2005 as it started the season with a 19-0 record on its way to a school-record 45 wins. The Warhawks won the WIAC regular season title and capped a 7-1 run through the NCAA Tournament with a 10-4 victory against SUNY Cortland in the national championship game.
 
In 2014, the Warhawks swept the WIAC regular season and tournament championships and posted a perfect 8-0 mark in the NCAA Tournament, including a 7-0 win against Emory (Ga.) in the national title game.
 
Head Coach John Vodenlich
 
John Vodenlich is in his 17th season at the helm of the program. He has led the Warhawks to 13 WIAC regular season championships, six conference tournament titles and 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, including six trips to the Division III World Series and national championships in 2005 and 2014.
 
Vodenlich is a two-time National Coach of the Year, six-time Regional Coach of the Year and 10-time WIAC Coach of the Year. He entered the 2021 season ranked fourth among active Division III coaches in winning percentage and 29th in wins, and 14th all time in Division III history in winning percentage.
 
Vodenlich enters the NCAA Tournament with a career record of 643-231-1 (.735).
 
Four Aces
 
UW-Whitewater has been reliant on its group of four starting pitchers, who were all selected first team All-WIAC for the 2021 season – Donovan Brandl (Rudolph, Wis./Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln), Westin Muir (Highlands Ranch, Colo./St. Charles North (Ill.)), Matt O'Sullivan (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) and Connor Spear (Highland, Ind./Mount Carmel (Ill.)).
 
All four pitchers rank among the top five in the WIAC in earned run average and opposing batting average, and have helped the Warhawks post a team ERA of 2.92 entering the NCAA Tournament.
 
O'Sullivan, the 2021 WIAC Pitcher of the Year, is 9-0 with a 1.74 ERA in a league-leading 73 2/3 innings. He also owns 109 strikeouts, which ranks third in the nation, and is a three-time WIAC Kwik Trip Pitcher of the Week and D3baseball.com Team of the Week selection for March 22-28 after striking out 17 batters, tied for the second most in one game in program history, against Finlandia on March 26.
 
Muir is 8-1 with a league-leading 1.27 ERA in 63 2/3 innings over 11 starts. He enters the national tournament with 76 strikeouts and was a WIAC Pitcher of the Week in April. Muir struck out a season-high 11 batters in seven shutout innings during UW-W's win over UW-Stout in the WIAC Tournament.
 
Brandl is 6-1 with one save and a 1.99 ERA in 45 1/3 innings over 10 appearances, including seven starts, and Spear is 6-0 with a 2.26 ERA in 55 2/3 innings over 13 games, including eight starts.
 
Mr. Clutch
 
Left fielder Matt Korman (Waterford, Wis./Waterford Union) ranks sixth in NCAA Division III with 59 RBIs entering the NCAA Tournament. In the WIAC Tournament championship game on May 22, Korman recorded four hits, including a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to increase UW-W's lead to four runs. He also homered in a conference tournament game against UW-Stout one day earlier.
 
Korman, who leads the team in both homers (7) and doubles (19), is one of two players on the team to start all 41 of the team's games this season. (Nick Santoro (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley))
 
Youth + Experience Combining for Strong Middle Infield
 
The Warhawks' middle infield combination of first-year second baseman Sam Vomhof (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) and veteran shortstop Nick Santoro (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) are getting it done both offensively and defensively for UW-Whitewater in 2021. Both were first team All-WIAC selections this spring.
 
Santoro, who is in his third year as a starter, is among league leaders in batting average (.385), hits (65), runs (52) and stolen bases (19). He also ranks third in the conference in fielding assists (96) and owns a .967 fielding percentage.
 
Vomhof leads the team and is third in the WIAC in batting average (.408), and is among the top five in triples (5) and sacrifice flies (5). He is second on the team with 54 fielding assists and enters Thursday's game with a .972 fielding percentage.
 
DeMeyer's Highlight Reel Play Starts Career on High Note
 
Right fielder Jacob DeMeyer (Harshaw, Wis./Rhinelander) started his career off with a highlight-reel play and has built a strong 2021 rookie campaign.
 
DeMeyer's tumbling-over-the-wall catch in foul territory in the first game of a doubleheader against UW-La Crosse on March 31 was the No. 5 play on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 plays later that night. The catch helped the Warhawks to a 9-2 victory in the contest.
 
DeMeyer, now an honorable mention All-WIAC outfielder, has combined his strong defensive play with a great spring at the plate. He owns a team-best .485 on-base percentage with a team-high 28 walks, which both rank among the top five in the WIAC. DeMeyer is batting .369 with 13 doubles, three homers, 40 RBIs and nine stolen bases entering Thursday's game.
 
They Do It All
 
Brandl and Connor Moroder (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee) doubled up on All-WIAC honors, both earning awards for performances on the mound and at the plate.
 
In addition to all of his pitching numbers above, Brandl is batting .367 with six doubles, 27 runs scored and 15 RBIs in 29 games. His performance warranted honorable mention as a first baseman.
 
Moroder, who is in his third season with the program, is 3-0 with a 3.73 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings over a team-high 16 appearances, including 15 in relief. At the plate, the utility player is hitting .400 (20-of-50) with seven doubles and 21 RBIs.
 
Scouting the Rest of the Regional
 
Adrian (32-7 overall) is the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion and the top seed in this week's regional tournament. The Bulldogs are led by MIAA Pitcher of the Year Pierce Banks and MIAA Position Player of the Year Gunner Rainey.
 
Texas Lutheran (28-12) is the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference champion, knocking off top-10 ranked Trinity (Texas) in the SCAC championship game by a 16-15 score. Bulldogs coach Rick Heines is in his first year at the helm of the program.
 
Penn State Harrisburg (28-7) also earned an automatic bid to the national tournament by winning the North Eastern Athletic Conference championship with a doubleheader sweep over Penn State Abington in the title round. Bret Williams was named the NEAC Player of the Year, and Drew Harshberger was selected NEAC Pitcher of the Year.
 
Luther (31-14) won the American Rivers Conference title, defeating No. 1 seed Coe in the tournament championship game to punch their ticket to the tournament. First team All-ARC selections include pitcher Tyler Boesel, catcher Luke Plunkett and shortstop Charlie Rubendall.
 
Salem State (13-8) earned the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference title with a sweep over Fitchburg State in the MASCAC Tournament best-of-three championship series. Designated hitter Zach Piroh, pitcher Jack Sefrino and second baseman Jake Boucher earned first team All-MASCAC accolades.