Posted: May 30, 2021
(Story courtesy of Texas Lutheran Athletic Communications)
WHITEWATER, Wis. -- Texas Lutheran's quest for a return trip to the NCAA Division III World Series came up two wins short as the Bulldogs lost in the second-to-last game of the Whitewater, Wis. Regional.
Sunday at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's Prucha Field at Miller Stadium, the Bulldogs fell 9-4 to the host school and No. 2 seed, UW-Whitewater.
The game was an elimination game for both schools. The Warhawks entered the day unbeaten, but the hosts were beaten in the day's early game 3-2 by top-seed Adrian (Mich.). TLU battled to Game 10 after dropping its regional opener but staving off elimination with a pair of wins over Adrian (Mich.) and Luther (Iowa).
With the win over TLU, UW-Whitewater and Adrian will play Monday for the regional crown and the right to advance to the D3 World Series in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
TLU, the 2018 national runner-up, finishes its year at 30-14. Sixteen Bulldog seniors concluded their TLU Baseball careers.
UW-Whitewater jumped out to a 7-0 lead after a run in the second, two in the third, three in the fourth, and one in the fifth.
The Bulldogs cut the lead to 7-4 with three in the sixth and one in the seventh.
In the sixth, Austin Colon doubled down the right field line to drive in Caleb Maly, and Cullen Motsinger came home on a double play ball. Tyler Post singled to score Colon for the third run of the frame.
In the seventh, Maly brought home Simon Scales with an RBI groundout.
The Warhawks added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth on a triple to right-center field.
Sam Vomhoff had three hits, two runs scored, and an RBI for UW-Whitewater. Tucker Criswell homered and had two hits and two RBI. Jacob DeMeyer collected three hits.
For TLU, Colon had three hits with a run scored and an RBI. Post collected three hits and an RBI. Maly was 1-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
The Bulldogs qualified for the 2021 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship by winning the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship. TLU Baseball is led by Rick Heines, who completed his first year as the program's head coach.
