John Vodenlich and the UW-Whitewater baseball team have secured a spot in the Division III World Series after an impressive journey back to the eight-team tournament. The Warhawks, ranked No. 5 in the D3baseball.com national poll, faced off against No. 16 UW-La Crosse in the NCAA Super Regional on their home field. In order to advance, they needed to win two games.
On Saturday, the Warhawks achieved an impressive sweep of UW-La Crosse, with pitchers Cade Berendt and Jack Hagen throwing complete games and Whitewater hitters combining for 16 runs and 24 hits. In the opener, Berendt threw a shutout, striking out 13 and allowing only three hits. Seven Whitewater hitters contributed at least one RBI to the 8-0 victory.
In the title game, Hagen pitched a solid game, allowing no earned runs and helping secure an 8-2 victory. Eli Frank and Matt Scolan played key roles in the decisive game, each recording three RBIs. Frank hit a two-run homer in the second inning and added a sacrifice fly in the third, while Scolan hit a three-run homer in the eighth.
The Warhawks’ success on Saturday was not without its challenges; they lost Game 1 of the Super Regional narrowly to UW-La Crosse by a score of 3-2. However, their impressive performance on Saturday was enough to secure their spot in the World Series starting on Friday in Eastlake, Ohio. Vodenlich is looking to add another championship to his resume as he has led Whitewater to two national titles before this year’s successes.
Overall, John Vodenlich and UW-Whitewater have shown incredible resilience and determination throughout this season as they have overcome many obstacles on their way back to being crowned champions once again at