LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (WXOW) - There's nothing like home-cooking, especially if you're UW-La Crosse Baseball. The Eagles were a perfect 10-0 at North Campus Field entering Sunday's twinbill with UW-Whitewater.
That record includes a sweep of perennial power UW-Oshkosh, and two wins over the Warhawks on Saturday.
Game one would be scoreless until the top of the 5th inning, when a Warhawks stolen base followed by a Brett Jacobson error gave Whitewater a 1-0 lead.
The Warhawks led 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh, but UW-L loaded the bases for Cole Cefalu, and the sophomore delivered. The sophomore belted a grand slam home run, putting UW-L back on top 5-4 with one pitch.
Whitewater would answer when David Cladis hit a solo home run in the top of the 8th. The score would remain 5-5 into the bottom of the 9th.
With two outs, Cefalu stepped up to the plate and proved the hero once again. An RBI single to center gave the Eagles a 6-5 win, and a chance to sweep.
"It feels great," Cefalu said. "I was fortunate enough this weekend to get some good pitches to hit and made the most of them."
Holding on to a 6-4 lead late in game two, UW-L turned to the longball once again. This time, Brooks Braga connected with a pitch he liked and sent it over the fence, plating Jacobson on the two-run shot.
Even with a more comfortable four-run lead in the 9th, the Eagles had reasons to worry. Two of them being the two runs scored on Marty Herum's home run. But Skyler Debilzen was able to get the final outs for UW-L's first ever four-game sweep of Whitewater, winning game two 8-6.
Head Coach Chris Schwarz said, "It's a great feeling. I think we all, coaches and players, believe that we're going to make it happen some how, some way, and we've got some players that really feel good about themselves. They don't hope that they're going to get the job done. They walk to the plate knowing they're going to get it done."
UW-L improves to 14-2 in the WIAC with a ten-game win streak for the first time since 1979.
