UW-Whitewater players celebrate after a 52-14 victory over Mount Union in the NCAA Division III championship game in December. Credit: Associated Press / Don Petersen

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Whitewater — John Vodenlich's players want to join UW-Whitewater's parade of national champions.

"It is our time, definitely," fifth-year senior pitcher Brock Liston said. "It is our time."

Vodenlich's team enters the NCAA Division III World Series at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute four victories away from making history.

The Warhawks (40-7), who play Southern Maine (35-13) at 7:45 p.m. Friday in the opening round of the eight-team, double-elimination tournament, are trying to match the performances of the football and men's basketball programs.

Whitewater crushed Mount Union, 52-14, in December for the school's fifth national title in football. All five have come under Lance Leipold, who has a 94-6 record in seven seasons as head coach. That includes a 29-1 mark in postseason play, with the lone loss coming in the 2008 title game.

Then in March, Pat Miller guided the men's basketball program to its second national title in three seasons and fourth overall with a dramatic 75-73 victory over Williams College. Miller, a co-captain on Whitewater's 1989 championship team, has compiled a record of 291-83 (.778 winning percentage) in 13 seasons as head coach.

Only two NCAA schools have won national titles in football and men's basketball in the same academic year: Florida in 2006-'07 and Whitewater in 2011-'12.

No school has ever swept the three major sports — football, men's basketball and baseball — in the same year.

Whitewater is making its sixth appearance in the World Series. Five of the appearances have come under Vodenlich, who is in his 11th season as head coach. He led the Warhawks to the national title in 2005 and has compiled a record of 398-128-1 (.755 winning percentage).

"You look at what basketball has done recently and what football has done and you can't help but want a piece of that," Vodenlich said. "And that's all we're trying to do is get a little piece of that pie."

And did we mention that Whitewater's women's gymnastics team won its third consecutive national title in March? The men's and women's wheelchair basketball teams also won national titles, though the NCAA does not sanction either sport. In addition, the softball team has advanced to the eight-team national tournament starting Thursday.

"We're all a big family, so when one team wins a championship we all win a championship," said senior shortstop Mikole Pierce, who has started all 47 games and leads the team in hitting at .446. "We're ready to do what we need to do."

Predicting which team will leave Fox Cities Stadium with the title is difficult.

Five of the No. 1-seeded teams in the regionals failed to reach the World Series. Three of those teams failed to win a game in the regional.

However, defending national champion Linfield (37-7) entered postseason play with the No. 2 ERA nationally (2.16) and allowed five runs and 17 hits in four regional games.

Whitewater enters the World Series with an ERA of 3.43. Although more than a run higher than the standard set by Linfield's staff, the Warhawks lowered their mark from 3.62 last season despite having to replace their top three starters.

Whitewater pitchers allowed 11 runs in four regional games, an ERA of 2.75.

"You've got to give the pitching staff a lot of credit," Vodenlich said. "Everyone — from the No. 1 pitcher all the way through our 10th pitcher — has done the job for us all year long."

Having junior left-hander Colin Grove available out of the bullpen has been a boon.

Grove, a graduate of Beloit Memorial High School, is 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA. He allowed four hits and no runs in 62/3 innings in the regional. He wasn't available for postseason play in 2013 after cutting his pitching hand while filleting a fish.

"He gives us a strike thrower with a lot of heart, a guy who won't back off any hitter, a guy who believes in himself," Vodenlich said. "That is what we have — a competitor, a guy with a little edge."

Vodenlich and his players understand nothing will be given to them at Fox Cities Stadium.

They lost starting leftfielder Kyle Haen to injury April 30. Third baseman Jared Fon was limited to one pinch-hitting appearance in the regional because of a nagging hamstring injury, though he hopes to be able to play in the field Friday.

"None of us see it that we're going to disappoint people if we don't win it, other than ourselves," senior centerfielder Dylan Friend said. "We really want it.

"That is what everybody is here for, isn't it? Every single team in the nation plays for a national championship."

NCAA DIVISION III WORLD SERIES

Friday

Game 1: Linfield (37-7) vs. St. Thomas (37-7), 10 a.m.

Game 2: Baldwin Wallace (29-18) vs. Emory (34-11), 1:15 p.m.

Game 3: SUNY Cortland (35-8) vs. Salisbury (37-7), 4:30 p.m.

Game 4: UW-Whitewater (40-7) vs. Southern Maine (35-13), 7:45 p.m.