Eastlake, Ohio — Dominant. In one of the most dominant performances in NCAA Division III Championship history, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team secured the national title with a 21-5 win over Messiah University. The Warhawks scored 74 runs over the course of their five games at the World Series, a Division III record, to hoist the championship trophy for the third time in program history (2005, 2014).
The Warhawks were able to get their bats to shine early as the designated away team.
Andy Thies (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles) delivered the first strike with a three-run homer, with the bats moving early, the Warhawks were on a mission.
Cade Hansen (New Braunfels, Texas/Smithson Valley) set the tone defensively as well, dealing two strikeouts right out of the gates. A groundout over to
Darryl Jackson (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King) created the first 1-2-3 inning of the day for Hansen.
The Warhawks tacked on two more in the second, as Jackson got on with a double. Dominic McVay followed suit with his own double to score the shortstop, with
Aaron Holland (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) bringing in McVay with a single of his own.
After just two innings of play, the Warhawks had already burst out to a 5-0 lead, replicating the first game of the World Series Final.
Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) was the lone hit in the third, as Messiah's defense was able to put a zero on the scoreboard for UW-Whitewater. However, Hansen kept moving through the order, pitching his 9th straight out of the game.
In the fourth inning, the Warhawks pushed the lead to double digits, benefitting from a few walks and wild pitches to move the juiced bases.
Darryl Jackson (Milwaukee, Wis./Rufus King) cleared the bags with a two-RBI single to cap off the inning.
Cade Hansen (New Braunfels, Texas/Smithson Valley) dealt his fourth straight 1-2-3 inning to get the bats back on the field and push the momentum forward.
In the 5th,
Matt Scolan (Downers Grove, Ill./South) delivered the second strike over the wall, putting the Warhawks up 12-0. The Scolan homer kickstarted five straight hits for UWW.
Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) connected on a triple, with
Andy Thies (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles),
Eli Frank (Bayport, Wis./Bay Port), and
Danny Hopper (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) all passing the bat to the next guy in the order. Jackson finished the inning with an RBI fielders choice, putting the lead at 16.
Hansen's no-hitter came to a close in the bottom of the fifth, as the Falcons marked their first base knock on the righty. Hansen got out of the inning quickly though, forcing a 463 double play to bring the UWW offense back out.
In the 6th, the Warhawks hit back to back home runs.
Matt Scolan (Downers Grove, Ill./South) hitting his second of the game, hitting a huge career milestone. With the homer, Scolan tallied his 300th hit wearing the Warhawk uniform.
Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) followed suit with his own home run, putting the Warhawks one run away from the 20 mark.
On the Falcons side of the frame, Messiah pushed their first runs of the day across with a four-hit inning.
Max Huseboe (Ripon, Wis./Ripon) came into relief Hansen during the inning, picking up the last two outs to finish the inning.
The Warhawks were held off the score column in the 7th, but not the hit column, as
Aaron Holland (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) recorded a single to get on base. Holland's hit put him at 94 on the season, setting a new season record on the Warhawk program.
Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) led off the 8th, looking for a double to complete the cycle, but got on base with a walk.
Danny Hopper (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) scored him, followed by
Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) hitting an RBI single to put the Warhawks at 21 runs.
Messiah scored another two runs after a two-out double. But
Jack Hagen (San Clemente, Cal./San Clemente) finished the side with a backwards K.
In the top of the 9th, the Warhawks went three-up-three-down, going through an inning without a hit for the first time since the bottom of the third in the June 3rd game.
Logan Eisenbarth (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) had the call on the mound for the last three outs. After two fly outs to
Matt Scolan (Downers Grove, Ill./South) in left, a foul pop-up to the first base side created the moment all Warhawks were waiting for.
Eli Frank (Bayport, Wis./Bay Port) made the catch, in front of the Messiah dugout, dropping to his knees as the dogpile ensued.
Adam Cootway (DePere, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. The Warhawks Designated Hitter finished the week with a .615 (16-26) and a 1.963 OPS. Cootway was responsible 18 Warhawk runs (10 RBIs and 12 Runs Scored) while hitting four home runs in the process. Cootway set multiple records in the 8-team World Series, including Runs (12), Total Bases (34), and Triples (2).
Joining Cootway on the All-Tournament Team; First Baseman
Eli Frank (Bayport, Wis./Bay Port), Second Baseman
Andy Thies (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles), Third Baseman
Danny Hopper (Palatine, Ill./Palatine), Outfielder
Sam Paden (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville), Outfielder
Matt Scolan (Downers Grove, Ill./South), Pitcher
Cade Hansen (New Braunfels, Texas/Smithson Valley), and Pitcher
Ben Lee (Amherst, Wis./Amherst).
The Warhawks will return to Whitewater tomorrow, with a championship celebration welcoming them back. The Celebration will take place Thursday, June 5th at 7:00 PM at Prucha Field.
