The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team booked their second consecutive trip the NCAA Division III World Series Final with a dominant 17-4 win over Rowan University. The Warhawks finished the game out strong, scoring 12 runs in their final two innings of offense.

Max Huseboe (Ripon, Wis./Ripon) got the call on the mound and delivered to a 1-2-3 inning to get the game underway. The Warhawk offense got to work right away with a sacrifice fly to grab the first run. 

Rowan answered back quickly, scoring two runs in the second to take the lead. The Profs worked on keeping the potent Warhawk offense quiet, tossing two scoreless innings to retain the lead.

Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) hit a hard ball to that cause an error and a score to tie the game up in the fourth, but Rowan retook the lead on a sacrifice bunt.

The Warhawk offense hit full stride in the fifth, putting their first crooked number on the board with a 3-run frame. A two-run double from Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) followed by a Paden RBI single put the Warhawks up for good at 5-3.

Rowan closed the gap to just one run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth, but the one run lead didn't last long for the Warhawks. 

Eli Frank (Bayport, Wis./Bay Port) kickstarted another rally, with the Warhawks loading up the bases with one out. Two runs scored on a back-to-back passed ball and wild pitch.

Aaron Holland (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) cleaned off another two runs to put the Warhawks up 9-4 heading into the last two innings.

After a lead-off walk, Ethan Wickman (Spring Green, Wis./River Valley) put the Rowan batters down in order to put the Warhawks three outs away from their second consecutive Finals appearance.

In the 8th, the Warhawks broke the game wide open with an 8-run frame to put the game away.

Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) highlighted the inning with a three-run homer, a sense of deja vu for the right fielder. A year ago today, Paden hit the walk-off home run against Birmingham Southern in the World Series.

A heads-up play by Darryl Jackson (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King) and Dominik McVay (Mineral Point, Wis./Mineral Point) made the most of a wild pitch. Holland, Scolan, and Cootway went back-to-back-to-back RBI hits to cap off the huge inning.

A two-out single would be the only base-runner for the Profs in the Top of the 9th. Brady Malkow (Brodhead, Wis./Brodhead) recorded the last strikeout needed, sending the Warhawks back to the NCAA Division III Championship Series.

The Warhawks will take on Messiah in the final best-of-three series. The first game has been moved up a day due to the forecasted weather. Game one will take place on Tuesday, June 3rd at 3 PM. The second and third games will be on Wednesday, June 4th beginning at 11 am.