WHITEWATER, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point baseball team (22-19) fell into an early 5-0 hole and fought all game to erase it, but unsuccessfully fell to UW-La Crosse (26-17) on Saturday, 8-5.
 
Senior Clint Rose (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) had three hits in his final appearances as a Pointer.  He doubled, drove in a run and scored another. 
 
Fellow senior Ben Gerber (Stoughton, Wis./Stoughton) also ended his career with a multi-hit game.  Gerber singled and doubled, both times leading off an inning.
 
Sophomore Ryan Stanicek (Loves Park, Ill./Boylan Catholic) hit a home run and scored twice in the game. 
 
Gerber began the game with a single to center on the second pitch.  A double play halted the early threat.
 
UWL got four hits and a walk in the bottom of the second inning to push across five runs.  A two-out, two-run home run capped the damage in the frame.
 
In the fifth, Rose singled to begin a rally.  He moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on a hit by Ben Faga (La Crosse, Wis./Central).  Tommy Duddleston (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle Institute) put down a sacrifice bunt, but the throw to first sailed down the line allowing two runs to score on the play.  Duddleston scored from third later in the frame on a wild pitch.
 
The Eagles scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth to extend the lead.
 
Stanicek drew a leadoff walk in the sixth.  He moved to second and to third on a pair of wild pitches.  Rose drove him in with a solid groundout.  Faga was hit with a pitch, Duddleston and Tyler Thomka (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) drew consecutive walks, but UWSP left the bases loaded.
 
Stanicek launched a solo home run with two outs in the seventh.  It was his team-leading fifth of the year.
 
The Pointers threatened again in the ninth.  William Iloncaie (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) singled with one away.  Kyle Mrozinski (Ashwaubenon, Wis./Ashwaubenon) walked and Stanicek was hit by a pitch, but for the second time in the game, UWSP stranded the bases loaded.
 
UWSP starter Chris Hetzel (Oshkosh, Wis./Lourdes) struck out a pair in his final outing.  Nathan Mulzer (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) pitched the final 2.0 innings with a strikeout.
 
Mrozinski led the team in hitting this season with a .310 average and his 34 RBI were the most on the team.  Gerber set the single season mark with 31 stolen bases.  He finished one steal shy of tying the career stolen bases record.