Box Score

Grand Chute, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater owned a 19-0 record when leading after the seventh inning. Only this time, the Warhawks were facing the top-ranked team in the country.

UW-Whitewater (41-9) had to fight to hold on to a late advantage as it stayed alive with a 7-4 victory over Chapman University (Calif.) on Sunday (May 25) in an elimination game of the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship held at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

Jeff Donovan’s three-run home run in the fourth inning proved to be the devastating blow that ended the Panthers’ (40-5) season.

Donovan said he watched the first couple fastballs from Panthers pitcher Jordan Sigman before he decided to be more aggressive.

“I was just waiting for it,” Donovan said of his first-pitch long ball. “And sure enough, there it was.”

A walk and hit batsman set up Donovan’s homer, giving the Warhawks an opportunity at improving their record to 20-0 when leading after seven frames. The blast gave UW-Whitewater a 4-1 advantage.

UW-Whitewater faces the winner between Adrian College and Linfield College on Monday (May 26) at noon. The Panthers, who captured the 2003 NCAA Division III title, concluded their fourth consecutive trip to the World Series.

Trailing 5-2, Chapman began its eighth-inning rally with a single. Kurt Yacko followed with a double to bring in the Panthers’ third run. One wild pitch and walk later, Stuart Hyman’s sacrifice bunt cut the deficit to 5-4.

With runners on second and third base with one out, the Warhawks brought in Jason Hooper to pitch. Hooper responded to the challenge, getting out of the inning with a pop up and a fly out.

UW-Whitewater wasted no time in its half of the eighth inning. Joe Munn sent the first pitch of the frame over the center field wall for a home run. Munn also turned in a diving catch in the fifth inning that prevented at least two runs from scoring.

UW-Whitewater head coach John Vodenlich called Munn’s grab a huge turning point in the contest.

“Joe’s an outfielder that likes diving,” Vodenlich said with a smile.  “I think that was a very average catch.”

Billy Johnson liked what he saw as well, blasting the next pitch for a double. A sacrifice fly by Ben Kuhlmann extended the Warhawks’ lead to 7-4.

A two-out hit-by-pitch allowed the Warhawks to open the scoring in the second inning.  Greg Harder’s single gave UW-Whitewater a 1-0 advantage. Chapman tied the game at 1 on a single by Ryan Prechtl in the third frame.

The Panthers tallied a run without recording a hit in the fifth inning. After a pair of errors, a walk and a passed ball, Prechtl hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.

Ben Prather doubled with one out for UW-Whitewater in the bottom of the fifth. A single by Munn brought him home for a 5-2 lead.

Aaron Dott threw 7.1 strong innings to earn the win. He allowed three earned runs on five hits while striking out three.

Hooper picked up his first save of the season, recording the last five outs.

Sigman gave up five runs on nine hits over 6.1 innings to take the loss. Wayde Kitchens allowed two runs while throwing the final 1.2 frames for the Panthers.

The Warhawks out-hit the Panthers, 11-6, thanks to two hits apiece from Munn, Johnson, Thomas Corcoran and Ben Prather.