WHITEWATER, Wis. – Sophomore Owen Burnikel hit a home run to put the MSOE baseball team ahead 1-0, but it could not hold on in falling to No. 3-ranked UW-Whitewater 4-1 Wednesday afternoon at Miller Stadium.

The Raiders (15-14) held their lead until the fifth inning, but could not hold off the Warhawks (18-4) in the end.

Burnikel's home run to left field was his fifth of the season and was MSOE's first hit of the game. It came with two outs in the fourth inning. Prior to that, the Red & White had single base runners in each inning via two walks and a hit batter.

Meanwhile, freshman Sam Crawford turned in a solid pitching performance. He scattered six hits over 4.1 innings, allowing just one run to UWW. He struck out two and walked a pair of batters in the game.

A lead-off single and subsequent stolen base in the fifth inning got the Warhawks on the board when Blake Fleischman followed with an RBI single. Then, in the sixth, the home team manufactured a run from a lead-off walk. A stolen base and sacrifice bunt set up the opportunity for Just Wegner's RBI single to left field.

Trent Diekvoss with tack on a pair of insurance runs for Whitewater in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach.

MSOE put multiple runners on just one time, in the seventh, but that provided its lone runner in scoring position in the game.

The Raiders return to NACC play Saturday, hosting Wisconsin Lutheran at The Rock Complex.