Sophomore UW-Whitewater catcher Adam Holland is one of the top players on the No. 1-ranked NCAA Division III Warhawks who have a combined .385 team batting average while going 17-0 thus far. Holland ranks eighth in the WIAC with a .412 average, leads the conference with nine homers and is second with 26 RBI.
COURTESY PHOTO TIM KRUSE/UWW SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS
Sophomore UW-Whitewater catcher Adam Holland is one of the top players on the No. 1-ranked NCAA Division III Warhawks who have a combined .385 team batting average while going 17-0 thus far. Holland ranks eighth in the WIAC with a .412 average, leads the conference with nine homers and is second with 26 RBI.
COURTESY PHOTO TIM KRUSE/UWW SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS
WHITEWATER — Tom Klawitter has had a fairly worry-free spring as pitching coach of the UW-Whitewater baseball team.
The former Major League pitcher and Janesville Craig High graduate, along with his pitching staff, has not been in many close ballgames in the first five weeks of the season.
“It’s pretty easy when you score as many runs as we do,” Klawitter said.
The Warhawks offense has led the No. 1-ranked NCAA Division III team in the poll to a 17-0 overall record and a 8-0 record in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, although the Warhawks pitching staff also leads the WIAC with a 2.70 ERA and the defense also tops the league with a .976 fielding average.
The Warhawks face their most challenging stretch this season with a scheduled WIAC doubleheader today against No. 24-ranked UW-Oshkosh (4-4, 13-7) at Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium, and then a pair of doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday at home against No. 10-ranked UW-La Crosse (8-0, 17-2).
Today’s doubleheader, scheduled to start at 1 p.m., is in jeopardy because of the rainy forecast.
In a phone interview Tuesday afternoon, Vodenlich said a decision on Wednesday’s schedule won’t be made until morning.
“I know the forecast doesn’t look good,” Vodenlich said. “We have a list of conference guidelines we have to follow. So, there are concerns with rescheduling and things of that nature.
“I would say it’s 50-50, but we got to do everything we can do to play,” Vodenlich said.
Sunny skies this weekend
The forecast is much better Saturday and Sunday with sunny skies and highs at 60 and 67, respectively. That should lead to conditions deserved by the two top WIAC programs for the past two years.
La Crosse went to the NCAA Division III World Series in 2023 and has an 89-31 record the past two-plus seasons.
Whitewater went to the NCAA Division III World Series last season and finished second and is 92-25 the past two-plus seasons.
Vodenlich includes Oshkosh in the conversation of the best in the WIAC since 2022.
“Basically all three have the same team for about three years,” Vodenlich said.
The Warhawks returned seven of the eight position starters from last season’s team that went 45-12 but lost the best-2-of-3 World Series 2-1 to Misericordia (Pennsylvania).
Whitewater features seven of the top 10 batting averages in the conference with six players—centerfielder Alex Najerda (.485), shortstop Darryl Jackson (.431), designated hitter Adam Cootway (.421), second baseman Andy Thies (.418), catcher Aaron Holland (.412) and leftfielder Matt Scolan (.400)—hitting .400 or better.
Senior first baseman Eli Frank is hitting .397.
Holland leads the WIAC with nine homers and is second with 26 RBIs. Scolan and rightfielder Sam Paden each have six homers, Cootway has five and Frank four.
Theis leads the WIAC with 27 RBI with Holland right behind with 26.
UW-Whitewater senior pitcher Max Husebo has a nifty 1.75 earned-run average in 2025 and has issued only four walks.
The Warhawks have scored double-digit runs in 14 of their 17 games and had nine runs in two of the other three.
The pitching staff has benefited from that run barrage, but the pitchers have not needed it.
The most runs the staff has allowed in any game is eight, and it has recorded three shutouts.
Senior right-hander Max Husebo has led the way with a 2-0 record with one save and a WIAC-low 0.95 ERA.
Junior Cade Hansen is 4-0 in four starts with 24 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings.
Jack Hagen, a 6-3 sophomore, is 3-0 in four starts with 22 strikeouts and just three walks.
Ben Lee, a 6-6 230-pound sophomore righthander, is 3-0 in two starts. Sophomore infielder/pitcher Jackson Koenig is 3-0 in two starts,
Milton grad Campbell on UW-La Crosse
UW-La Crosse’s roster includes Janesville resident and Milton High graduate Alec Campbell, a junior catcher who transferred from Winona State University.
In five games, Campbell is hitting .250 with five runs scored and seven RBI.
Vodenlich expects to have a battle.
“What it will come down to is what team plays better that day,” Vodenlich said. “Baseball is an interesting game. If one of your guys has a bad day, or a pitcher has a bad outing, it changes the outcome.
“I don’t think that happens in a game like football,” the 2024 American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee said. “In football, the most talented team normally wins. In baseball, the main thing is how do you play.”
Vodenlich expects to have success today against Oshkosh if weather allows and against La Crosse in the four games this weekend.
“We’re a good ballclub,” Vodenlich said. “I think we’ve maintained humility, because we understand it’s all about how we play at the end of the season.
“Our practices have been very focused,” said Vodenlich, who has a 745-229-1 record in his 22 seasons as the Warhawks head coach. “The season is a marathon not a sprint, and we understand that.”
The Warhawks will have a better understanding of where they stand by Sunday night.
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