The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater defeated Trinity University (TX) 7-3 in the opening game of the NCAA Division III World Series. The game began on Friday, May 30th & went through five and a half innings before being suspended due to weather. When play resumed on Saturday, the Warhawks held onto their lead and opened the tournament with the victory.
The Warhawks got off to a hot start, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first. The Warhawks drew two walks, loading up the bases for
Danny Hopper (Palatine, Ill./Palatine). Hopper lit the scoreboard up first in the Division III World Series with a 2-RBI single.
Darryl Jackson (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King) and
Dominik McVay (Mineral Point, Wis./Mineral Point) each had an RBI single to cap off the four run inning.
UW-Whitewater kept Trinity from moving on the bases, with only one hit per inning through three. The top of the third ended with a 463 double play stranding another runner on.
Trinity was able to get the Warhawks with two outs. But
Matt Scolan (Downers Grove, Ill./South) got on with a double to center.
Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) joined him on base with a four-pitch walk.
Andy Thies (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles) cleaned them off with a triple to put the Warhawks up 6-0.
In the Top of 5, the Tigers rallied two singles with two outs, but a groundout ended the ending to leave two more stranded.
After the flip, the rain started to come down substantially, causing for the tarp to come out and a delay to follow. The decision was made to suspend the game at the bottom of the fifth.
After play resumed on Saturday, UWW wasted no time getting back on the base path.
Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) started the day, reaching on the single. An inning later,
Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) hit a homer over to right field, putting the Warhawks up 7-0 after six innings.
Trinity answered back in the 7th, grabbing 2 runs to end the shutout. The Warhawks got out of the jam to keep the lead at five heading into the stretch.
The Warhawks kept making good contact, but defense plays by Trinity didn't allow anything to go through. Trinity put a would-be two-run double into play, but the relay to home was in time for the out. The Warhawks maintained a 7-3 lead heading into the final three outs.
Two fly-outs & a strikeout later, clinched the victory in the weather delayed game.
Cade Hansen (New Braunfels, Texas/Smithson Valley) was the pitcher of record, pitching the first 5.0 innings on Friday night. Hansen notched five strikeouts and five hits with no earned runs.
The Warhawks will return to action on Sunday, June 1st at 1:15 PM ET against Denison.
