Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box
STEVENS POINT – The 20th-ranked UW-Stevens Point baseball team ran its win streak to nine games this afternoon with a 12-2 victory in seven innings in game one and an 8-5 win in game two over UW-Superior at University Field.
The Pointers improve to 15-6 overall and 7-1 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) action. The Yellowjackets fall to 12-12 overall and 3-9 in conference play. Stevens Point is now 49-7 all-time against UW-Superior.
It was the Stewart Larsen (Sturgeon Bay/Sturgeon Bay) (Sr.-Sturgeon Bay) show in game one as he tied a school record with three home runs, just missing a grand slam for the home run cycle. Larsen becomes the first Pointer to hit three home runs in a game since teammate Tim Schlosser (Oconomowoc/Oconomowoc) (Sr.-Oconomowoc) did it last season against UW-Oshkosh. The conference record is four home runs, which was done twice.
After the Pointers got three runs in the first, Larsen hit a three-run bomb in the bottom of the third to make it 6-0. Doug Coe (Appleton/North) (Sr.-Appleton/North) hit a two-run shot in the fourth to give the Pointers an 8-0 edge. After the Yellowjackets got two runs in the fifth, Larsen got those two runs back with one swing of the bat in the bottom half of the inning. Larsen hit a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh and Joel Hojnacki (Plover/SPASH) (Sr.-Plover/SPASH) scored on wild pitch to end the game in the seventh by a score of 12-2.
Travis Kempf (Kewaskum/Kewaskum) (Sr.-Kewaskum) improved to 4-0 on the mound as he went five innings and struck out seven. Larsen finished 3-for-3 with six RBIs. Doug Coe (Appleton/North) was 2-for-2 with four RBIs.
In game two, Brad Frank (Slinger/Slinger) (Sr.-Slinger) hit a two-run home run over the left field fence to give the Pointers a 2-0 lead after one. The Yellowjackets got three runs in the top of the second to take a 3-2 lead. Stevens Point tied the contest up 3-3 after a Brandon Scheidler (Chippewa Falls/McDonell) (Sr.-Chippewa Falls/McDonell) RBI single in the third.
Joel Hojnacki (Plover/SPASH) scored an unearned run in the fourth to give the Pointers a 4-3 lead. In the fifth inning, Doug Coe (Appleton/North) hit a solo bomb to centerfield, his team-high seventh home run of the season, to extend the lead to 5-3. Coe has homered in six of the last eight games.
A bunt single by Justin Bushong (Rhinelander/Rhinelander) (Sr.-Rhinelander) allowed another Pointer to score and give Stevens Point a 6-3 lead. Superior hung around and scored two runs in the top of the seventh on two errors by Stevens Point to cut the lead to 6-5. In the bottom of the eighth, the Pointers capitalized on a Superior error as with runners at first and second and two outs, the Yellowjackets had an errant throw, which allowed the two runners to score and give the Pointers an 8-5 lead. The Yellowjackets loaded the bases in the top of the ninth, but closer Jeff Zielke (Watertown/Watertown) (Jr.-Watertown) got the final batter to foul out as Stevens Point won 8-5.
Garrett Nix (Osseo/Osseo-Fairchild) (Jr.-Osseo/Osseo-Fairchild) (4-2) got the win on the mound as he went 5.1 innings and had six strikeouts. Jeff Zielke (Watertown/Watertown) earns his fifth save of the season, two shy of the school record for most saves in a season. Brad Frank (Slinger/Slinger) was 3-for-4 with three RBIs to lead Stevens Point at the plate.
The Pointers will have a makeup against UW-Oshkosh on Wednesday when they travel to Tiedemann Field to take on the Titans for a doubleheader. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
