This year, Wisconsin-Whitewater left nothing to chance.

Warhawks pitching ace Kevin Tomasiewicz returned to the mound for the decisive contest after being in two of his team's three earlier appearances in the Division III Baseball Championship finals. He responded with a complete game as Wisconsin-Whitewater won its first title May 31 with an 11-4 victory over Cortland State.

The Warhawks became the first team in six years to sweep through the finals in four games.

A year ago, Wisconsin-Whitewater missed out on a championship-game appearance when Eastern Connecticut State beat the Warhawks with a come-from-behind, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

This year, after Tomasiewicz's opening-game, seven-hit victory over Trinity (Connecticut), the Warhawks rallied in the second round past Chapman in a showdown of Division III's two top-ranked teams, then handed the ball to Tomasiewicz again in the eighth inning of the winners' bracket final against Wooster.

Tomasiewicz picked up the save and put the Warhawks over the hump they couldn't clear last year -- and when the team returned to its hotel early in the morning after the game, coach John Vodenlich saw that his ace wasn't finished yet.

"I went down and jumped in the pool," Vodenlich said. "The fitness facility is right next to the pool, and he's on the bike and then he's on the treadmill for over an hour. It was pretty evident at that point that he was planning on trying to prepare himself so he could come back for the championship.

"That's what coaches like to see, because then it makes it easy for us to decide who should be playing."

Returning to the mound less than two days later, Tomasiewicz struck out three and walked two in the final victory, and held Cortland State -- appearing in a championship game for the first time -- to nine hits.

"I just did what I had to do to help the team," said Tomasiewicz, who was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

Of course, Tomasiewicz got plenty of help, too, from teammates. Designated hitter Eddie Adamson went 2-for-5 with four runs batted in, and also crossed the plate twice en route to all-tournament-team honors. He hit a team-high .417 in the finals.

"I'm seeing the ball well, and I had the guys in front of me heating up," Adamson said. "When those guys are hitting the ball, I'm hitting the ball. My average is about 100 points higher when I've got guys in front of me on base. So my success is their success."

Catcher Aaron Guilbault also gave the Warhawks a charge through the tournament, hitting home runs in the win over Chapman and late in the championship game.

The final game attacted 1,929 fans to Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wisconsin -- the largest crowd for a championship game since 1986. Total attendance for the tournament was 24,430, the second-largest in the event's 30-year history.

Among other highlights, fans attending this year's championship witnessed the longest game in tournament history when Wartburg outlasted Rowan, 8-6, in 16 innings.

Earlier in the tournament, fans also saw Rowan senior pitcher Josh Schwartz extend his all-divisions record victory streak to 37 in a 10-0, four-hit complete game against Hampden-Sydney.

They also saw Cortland State rally through the losers' bracket after an opening loss to Wooster, and cap the comeback with a 4-1 victory over the Fighting Scots to advance to the championship game.

Regionals

At Chapman -- Texas Lutheran 9, Linfield 6; La Verne 6, Chapman 1; Texas Lutheran 11, La Verne 5; Chapman 6, Linfield 2; Chapman 11, La Verne 1; Chapman 7, Texas Lutheran 3; Chapman 8, Texas Lutheran 0. (Chapman advances.)

At Wis.-Whitewater -- Wis.-Whitewater 7, St. Thomas (Minn.) 4; St. Scholastica 5, Wis.-Stevens Point 3; Wis.-Stevens Point 2, St. Thomas (Minn.) 0; Wis.-Whitewater 6, St. Scholastica 0; Wis.-Stevens Point 18, St. Scholastica 3; Wis.-Stevens Point 13, Wis.-Whitewater 5; Wis.-Whitewater 7, Wis.-Stevens Point 3. (Wis.-Whitewater advances.)

At Salisbury -- Ferrum 4, Mary Washington 0; Hampden-Sydney 4, Salisbury 0; Hampden-Sydney 6, Ferrum 2; Mary Washington 6, Salisbury 2; Ferrum 6, Mary Washington 5; Hampden-Sydney 16, Ferrum 7. (Hampden-Sydney advances.)

At Ill. Wesleyan -- Ripon 6, Aurora 2; Wartburg 4, Washington-St. Louis 2; Ill. Wesleyan 3, Edgewood 2; Washington-St. Louis 12, Aurora 9; Edgewood 4, Ripon 1; Wartburg 1, Ill. Wesleyan 0; Edgewood 4, Washington-St. Louis 0; Ill. Wesleyan 7, Ripon 0; Wartburg 11, Ill. Wesleyan 5; Wartburg 11, Edgewood 3. (Wartburg advances.)

At Boyerton, Pennsylvania -- Rowan 1, Frank. & Marsh. 0 (10 inn.); DeSales 5, Messiah 4; Alvernia 6, TCNJ 5; DeSales 10, Alvernia 4; Messiah 1, Frank. & Marsh. 0; Rowan 10, TCNJ 2; DeSales 10, Alvernia 4; Rowan 12, DeSales 1; Alvernia 5, Messiah 2; Alvernia 5, DeSales 3; Alvernia 6, Rowan 5; Rowan 6, Alvernia 0. (Rowan advances.)

At Rose-Hulman -- Wooster 12, Adrian 1; Manchester 5, Millsaps 4; Otterbein 6, Webster 1; Adrian 4, Millsaps 3; Wooster 7, Webster 5; Otterbein 4, Manchester 3; Wooster 6, Otterbein 5; Manchester 4, Adrian 3; Wooster 5, Otterbein 4. (Wooster advances.)

At Harwich, Massachusetts -- Trinity (Conn.) 10, Salve Regina 7; Worcester St. 4, Suffolk 1; Wheaton (Mass.) 3, Amherst 2; Suffolk 8, Salve Regina 7; Trinity (Conn.) 2, Amherst 1; Wheaton (Mass.) 3, Worcester St. 0; Trinity (Conn.) 8, Wheaton (Mass.) 2; Suffolk 3, Worcester St. 2 (10 innings); Wheaton (Mass.) 3, Suffolk 2; Trinity (Conn.) 6, Wheaton (Mass.) 4. (Trinity (Conn.) advances.)

At Ithaca -- Cortland St. 9, Rhode Island Col. 8 (10 inn.); Skidmore 6, Pitt.-Bradford 4; Ithaca 8, Centenary (N.J.) 4; Pitt.-Bradford 2, Rhode Island Col. 0; Cortland St. 4, Centenary (N.J.) 0; Ithaca 16, Skidmore 2; Cortland St. 9, Ithaca 8; Skidmore 9, Pitt.-Bradford 3; Ithaca 9, Skidmore 2; Cortland St. 9, Ithaca 7. (Cortland St. advances.)

Game 1

Kevin Tomasiewicz, Andrew Keller (9) and Aaron Guilbault; Greg Talpey, Jon Rappaport (5), Michael Regan (8), Kyle Cox (8) and Andrew Fries. W -- Tomasiewicz. L -- Rappaport. A -- 1,306.

Game 2

Jairo Ochoa, Devin Drag (9) and John Alexander, Jarrod Sammet; Ryan Moorman, Charles Colvin (7), Matt Motsenbocker (8), Aaron Saeugling (9) and Brian Greiner. HR -- Joel Reynolds (Wartburg). W -- Ochoa. L -- Moorman. A -- 1,481.

Game 3

John Schoenholtz, Daniel Hadra (6) and Jason Bour; Josh Schwartz and Michael Rucci, Bobby Fox. W -- Schwartz. L -- Schoenholtz. A -- 1,678.

Game 4

Matt Miller, Jim Dougher (7), Nick McPartland (8) and Shawn Ensel; Jon Oliver, Luke Katich (8) and Brandon Boesiger. HR -- Luke Ullman (Wooster). W -- Katich. L -- Dougher. A -- 1,713.

Game 5

Tim Kiely and Andrew Fries; Matthew Scherbring and Brian Greiner. W -- Scherbring. L -- Greiner. A -- 1,285.

Game 6

Jayson Hanky, Larry Greene (3) and Jason Bour; Mike Burnett, Ryan Hooper (8), Justin Mattes (8), Nick McPartland (9) and Erik Johnson, Shawn Ensel. HR -- Travis Robinson (Cortland St.). W