UW-Whitewater falls to Misericordia in NCAA Division III World Series finale 10-5

EASTLAKE, Ohio — The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s bats were hot on championship Thursday of the NCAA Division III World Series but Misericordia University’s were practically on fire.

The Warhawks won a 16-10 slugfest to force a third game at Classic Park after the Cougars had won 12-9 on Wednesday. But Misericordia, out of Dallas, Pennsylvania, racked up 14 hits in the second game as it went on to win 10-5 and become national champions.

The Cougars jumped on Whitewater early as they hit six hits, four of those doubles, in a seven-run first before upping the lead to 9-0 off a pair of hits and a Warhawks’ error in the third.

Andy Thies put the Warhawks on the board with an RBI double in the fourth and Sam Paden added an RBI groundout in the same inning.

Misericordia went into double-digits of a pair of balks in the fifth.

Adam Cootway and Danny Hopper both scored on throwing errors by the catcher in the eighth while Paden’s one-run double down the right-field line made it 10-5 but the Warhawks couldn’t plate a run in the ninth to end the season.

Cootway went 3-for-4 at the plate while Thies was a perfect 4-for-4.

Whitewater blasted five home runs as it edged the Cougars 19-18 in hits during game one.

Aaron Holland sent the first homer of the day out of the park in the bottom of the first and the Warhawks went up 6-1 after a five-run second with Eli Frank hitting a two-run bomb.

Matt Scolan hit an RBI single in the big frame which put him at 74 RBI on the season, breaking the program record for runs batted in during a season.

Thies hiked Whitewater’s lead to 8-1 as he walloped a solo homer in third and cleared the billboard in right-center with his second solo blast of the day.

Scolan hit a three-run homer in the fifth and an RBI groundout in the sixth upped it to 12-1. Misericordia battled back by scoring three runs in the seventh and four in the eighth to cut it to 12-8.

But RBI singles by Dominick McVay and Holland combined with a sacrifice by Scolan gave the Warhawks their eight-run lead back.

Thies went 4-for-4 with four runs scored while Scolan was 4-for-5 with six RBI. Michael Hilker Jr. earned the win in his start as he struck out five and allowed four runs in six innings.

The Warhawks tied the program record for wins in a season by going 45-12. Whitewater also set program single season records in games played, hits, runs batted in, runs, total bases and strikeouts.