Blue Wahoos Have Role In UW-Whitewater's Special Season, D-3 College World Series Trip 

When his team arrived in Pensacola in mid-March for the now-annual, Blue Wahoos Challenge series, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater acclaimed coach John Vodenlich was mindful to scale back excitement.

“I knew we were a talented team,” said Vodenlich, who was inducted in January into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. “I knew we could be good, but I also feel like we can be good every year. Something I learned early in my career is not to place artificial limitations on what is possible.”

Now, the ultimate prize is possible.

The Warhawks (40-9) have advanced to the NCAA Division III College World Series – the team’s first appearance in eight seasons on the grand stage – and their seventh time under Vodenlich reaching this desired destination. The Warhawks won national titles in 2005 and 2014.

The team will face Randolph-Macon College from Ashland, Virigina on Friday at 7:30 in a first-round game at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake, Ohio, located 19 miles north of Cleveland.

The ballpark is the home of the Lake County Captains, the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians and part of the Midwest League that includes the Beloit Sky Carp, a Blue Wahoos connection as a Miami Marlins affiliate. This is the first time Eastlake, Ohio has hosted the D-3 CWS.

Wisconsin-Whitewater is the alma mater of Blue Wahoos owners Quint and Rishy Studer, who also own the Sky Carp. In addition, Anthony Aspenson, the Blue Wahoos vice president for creative and communications, is a Whitewater graduate.

The Warhawks have made Pensacola and Blue Wahoos Stadium a recent rite of spring, beginning with the first trip in 2019. The Studers provide the experience as a gift, part of gratitude for attending the university and receiving degrees. The entire field of teams in recent seasons has been treated to a dinner at the stadium’s Hancock Whitney club level.

All of this has added to joy of the UW-Whitewater’s season. After losing the first game of last week’s super regional, the Warhawks battled back to beat Wisconsin-La Crosse 8-0 and 8-2 to earn the trip.

The team was honored Tuesday night by the Milwaukee Brewers with the Warhawks players on the field prior to the Brewers' game against the Chicago Cubs at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

“It’s awesome,” said Vodenlich, reflecting on his team’s three-month journey to the D-3 College World Series. “We’ve been there quite often, but this is the first time since 2016, so it’s been a minute. I don’t know if that makes it more special or less special, but it’s a very special experience and I’m excited, the team is excited, I know Quint is excited. Hey, things are good!”

The Warhawks played eight games in nine days this season at Blue Wahoos Stadium, including a doubleheader sweep on March 14 against Birmingham Southern, which has become a national storyline in college baseball. In the team’s final year of operation, Birmingham Southern completed a fairytale run in post season to reach the Division III CWS.

The university announced in March, via its board of trustees, that it was shutting down effective May 31, ironically the same day the D-3 CWS begins, after being unable to stay afloat financially. Birmingham Southern was a team that frequently played in the Blue Wahoos Challenge during the event’s four years.

“Baseball, I think, has always been a great teacher of life and one of the biggest features of the game is that life is tough and you fail a lot,” Vodenlich said, reflecting on Birmingham Southern’s situation. “And a lot of bad things can happen and sometimes things are out of your control.

"And you have to move and I think Birmingham Southern has learned that lesson firsthand. I think baseball is that support that teaches resiliency and this situation has exemplified that.

“I wish them the very best... just not against us.”

The two teams are in the same bracket of the eight-team, double-elimination tournament. If both win opening round games, or should lose in opening round games, they will meet in the second round.

The Warhawks arrived in Pensacola on March 9 only to realize that star outfielder, senior Adam Cootway, a preseason first-team All-American in Division III, had broken the hamate bone in his wrist.

Realizing the urgency of getting it surgically repaired, Studer arranged an appointment at the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, a charter partner of the Blue Wahoos.

The following day at the facility, Cootway underwent surgery performed by Dr. Steven Kronlage, an Orthopedic surgeon at Andrews Institute. The surgery enabled him to return in late April and be part of this team’s postseason success.

“When he got hurt, he was locked in, because he had been going through the whole preseason,” Vodenlich said. “And once you have a hamate bone injury, you can’t pick up a bat or take any swings for about four weeks. Since then, he has been slowly working back and starting to come back to form.

“We are excited for him. If we didn’t have the Quint Studer connection, we wouldn’t have been able to get him in so quickly and everything would have been delayed. So, the timing of it and fact that Quint was involved, allowed us to get Adam back in the lineup quicker than we expected and on the path to full recovery.”

Cootway batted .477 last season with 67 RBI and a whopping .933 slugging percentage. In 22 games this season, he’s batting .279 with four homers and 11 RBI.

“He is better now than he was a week ago,” Vodenlich said. “And he keeps progressing in a positive manner.”

Cootway and one of the team’s top pitchers, Cade Berendt, are among four seniors on the team. They participated in graduation ceremonies last week at Whitewater.

Vodenlich said the eight-year gap between national tournament appearances has made him appreciate this one all the better.

“As humans we tend to take things for granted,” he said. “Sometimes when you don’t have things happen frequently you realize that. Certainly the time between visits has done that for me.

“It has reminded me you can’t take things for granted. You want to live to the fullest and enjoy the experience.”