For much of the evening, Eastern Connecticut State University head coach Bill Holowaty had been second-guessing his decision-making process.

His Warriors had just lost a tight game earlier in the day, and were facing elimination from the finals of the 2004 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship, trailing 1-0 in the ninth inning to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Dwight Wildman helped erase any doubts the veteran head coach may have had, belting a two-run home run that carried 400-plus feet over a 20-foot-high fence in center field to give Eastern Connecticut a 2-1 victory over the Warhawks. The victory advances the Warriors to championship day (June 1) of the tournament.

"That [ninth inning] was a nightmare," Holowaty said. "We were rolling the dice there, you're the home team and probably should bunt É I'm saying roll the dice, [we're] dammed if we do, and dammed if we don't."

With second baseman Eugene Julian at first after a leadoff single that ended the night of UW-Whitewater starter Greg Reinhard, Holowaty let his powerful right fielder swing away.

Facing right hander Collin Kuecker, Wildman took the first pitch - a curveball that just missed the zone for ball one, he got a low and away offering to make the count 2-0.

"I didn't think I'd see anything much to hit," Wildman said. "At 2-0, with Eugene on first, I'm thinking I'm going to see a fastball. I just sat on it and he threw it right there."

The shot capped a stunning comeback, considering the Warriors had little to any success getting to Reinhard in the previous eight innings.

The right hander used his change up to fluster the Eastern Connecticut offense, allowing just four hits, while striking out five. The Warriors were relegated to settling for a series of ground outs, and hit into a pair of double plays.

UW-Whitewater broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth, when shortstop Ross Klawitter belted a two-out, run-scoring double down the right field line that scored designated hitter Steve Jilot. Second baseman Nic Teach singled next and the Warhawks' chance to extend the lead was thwarted when Klawitter was thrown out at home plate to end the inning. Still, it looked for a while like one run would be more than enough to win the ballgame.

"The guy made a great throw, the ball was hit hard," Vodenlich said. "You put all those things together and he gets thrown out at the plate by inches."

With Reinhard still cruising in the ninth, Vodenlich opted to go to Kuecker in an effort to create better matchups.

"I decided to go to Kuecker, which was a righty on righty switch," Vodenlich said. "Had we got to the next guy, we would have brought in [Kevin] Tomasiewicz to get the lefty on lefty match up and let him close out the game."

"I did not take [Reinhard] out because he couldn't [close the game], I thought it was a better match up with Kuecker. If he gets that first pitch strike, I think it changes everything from then on."

Bongiovanni turned in a solid outing himself, giving up a run on six hits with five strike outs in seven innings of work and was especially effective in shutting down UW-Whitewater first baseman Brady Endl.

After Bongiovanni gave up double to third baseman Eric Stangel to lead off the eighth, Holowaty brought All-American Ryan DiPietro in from the bullpen to face Endl, the National Player of the Year.

"I told [DiPietro], don't give anything up to [Endl], nothing up and in," Bongiovanni said. "Make it something down and away, something slow."

DiPietro used that advice, and threw an outside fastball, curveball, and fastball up and in to strike Endl out looking, capping off an 0-for-4 day. Further, the Warriors staff held the meat of UW-Whitewater's line up to just two hits - both from Stangel - in 15 at bats.

DiPietro picked up the win, his 11th of the season, and his fourth career NCAA Tournament win. He has yet to allow a run in this year's tournament, where opposing batters have posted an anemic .103 average in 11 innings of work.

The loss ended UW-Whitewater's first trip to the finals since 1989, and the Warhawks season at 39-9. Eastern Connecticut improved its mark to 42-10 and will advance to action Tuesday, where the Warriors will face either George Fox University or Aurora University.