LA CROSSE, Wis. - Ripon's baseball team proved that it belongs on the national stage Wednesday afternoon, defeating defending National Champion and third-ranked UW-Whitewater 15-7 in the opening round of the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament. That marks Ripon's 14th win in their last 16 games and snaps UW-Whitewater's postseason winning streak at eight games.

Ripon (24-14), who has now won at least 24 games in three consecutive seasons, jumped out to an early lead when Nick Kita scored in the top of the first on a two-out error. UW-Whitewater (33-10) then took their only lead of the game in the second thanks to a pair of RBI singles.

The Red Hawks took control of the game in the top of the third when Michael Polcyn crushed his 10th home run of the season over the left field wall. That gives Polcyn nine home runs in Ripon's last 12 games and 22 in less than two full seasons with the team. Nick Uhen added a sacrifice fly in the inning to put Ripon up 4-2.

Ripon added three more runs in the fifth, as Nick Schmitt scored on one of UW-Whitewater's four errors in the game. Uhen plated two more in that frame with a single up the middle. The floodgates opened in the seventh when Dakotah Kirchenwitz singled home another run. Later in that inning, Polcyn was intentionally walked to load the bases with two outs, only to see Schmitt hit his fourth career grand slam to give Ripon a 12-2 lead.

Whitewater finally got on the board again in the seventh on a solo homer to left, while the Warhawks cut the deficit to five with a four-run eighth. The Red Hawks would get all the breathing room they needed in the ninth when, after Schmitt was intentionally walked to load the bases, Mitchell Busch cleared them, driving in three runs with a double to left center.,UW-W went down quietly in the bottom of the ninth, as Jeff Schuurmans faced four batters, striking out three.

The Red Hawks finished with 13 hits, as all but one player in their lineup recorded at least one base knock. Polcyn, Schmitt, Busch, Uhen, and Nate Siudak each finished with two hits to lead the way. Kita, Polcyn, and Schmitt each scored three times, while Schmitt's four RBI led the team and Busch and Uhen each drove in three. Patrick Van Daalwyk (4-1) was brilliant on the mound for much of the day, giving up six earned runs on seven hits, while striking out two in seven innings of work. Ripon's bullpen of Schuurmans and Ethan Bemowski combined to give up just two hits in two scoreless innings.

Ripon will now play Coe College in Thursday's winner's bracket of the Midwest Regional at 4:30 p.m. at Copeland Park in LaCrosse, Wis. The game will have video available at,http://www.uwlathletics.com/sports/2015/5/12/Regional_0512150953.aspx?path=ncaa_iii_midwest_regional, while LiveStats will be available at,http://www.sidearmstats.com/uwlax/baseball/.
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