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Schwarz knew the Eagles would hit the ball, even against WIAC-leading and No. 6-ranked Whitewater. The key for UW-L was going to be pitching and defense.
Sure enough, in Game 1 the Eagles made key errors while allowing 14 hits in a 14-7 loss. But Game 2 saw sharp pitching from right-hander Greg Gibson along with strong defense, and UW-L grabbed a 9-8 win and a split, halting the Warhawks’ winning streak at 15 games on a chilly afternoon at North Campus Field.
Eagles senior first baseman Mike Schmidt had six hits, including three doubles, for the day.
UW-L (15-15, 8-10) maintained a two-game lead over Platteville for the fourth and final postseason tournament spot with six conference games remaining.
The Eagles host the Warhawks in another doubleheader at noon today.
“We have the talent to be playing with the best teams in our conference, which are also the best teams in the nation,” Schwarz said. “When we clean it up and pitch well, we’re right there with everybody else.”
Gibson, a sophomore from Appleton, Wis., pitched eight strong innings in the second game, allowing four runs on nine hits.
Not an easy task, considering that Gibson (4-1) watched the Warhawks score 14 runs on 14 hits in the opener. Whitewater entered the weekend leading the WIAC with a .334 batting average, plus the Warhawks had 29 home runs in as many games.
“I was looking at their charts and figuring out what they do, and it turns out everything they hit is fastballs in the zone to start,” Gibson said. “My best pitches are my curveball and my slider, and I was throwing them for strikes and they didn’t know what to look for.”
Schwarz felt good sending Gibson out against the hard-hitting Warhawks (26-5, 15-3).
“He is most definitely one of the better pitchers in the conference and on our team,” Schwarz said. “He’s not a 90 mph guy but he throws hard enough and he throws off-speed for strikes in any situation. That’s what he did today.”
Whitewater took a 4-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning, then the Eagles broke out a six-run fifth, capitalizing on three hits, two errors, two walks, a wild pitch and a passed ball against reliever Greg Donovan.
UW-L added two runs in the seventh, allowing Gibson to leave after eight with a 9-4 lead, but Whitewater didn’t make it easy, scoring four runs in the ninth off reliever Mike Brehm and had the bases loaded with two outs before a force at second finally ended it.
“This is coming from someone who was a closer in a former life — the ninth inning is always a zoo,” Schwarz said. “I’ve seen strange things happen in the ninth inning. You put somebody up against a wall and they’re going to scratch and claw. Fortunately, (Brehm) was tougher today.”
The first game was tied 7-7 through six innings before the Warhawks made the Eagles pay for an error in the seventh by scoring four runs, then adding three in the ninth.
Whitewater kept rolling through 3½ innings of the second game before Gibson settled down and the UW-L offense, led by Schmidt, got rolling.
“The second game turned out to be a must-win game and we treated it like that,” Schmidt said. “It’s kind of the playoffs for us from here on out. We took that mentality in the second game and started pouring it on.”
Joel Badzinski can be reached at (608) 791-8402 or joel.badzinski@lee.net
