Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box
RIPON – The 21st-ranked UW-Stevens Point baseball team needed 11 innings to win game one by a score of 4-2, but fell in game two by a score of 7-4 against No. 23 Ripon College today at Francis Field.
The Pointers record now stands at 24-11 overall, while the Red Hawks are now 24-5 overall.
In game one, Stevens Point got one run in the top of the first as Doug Coe (Appleton/North) (Sr.-Appleton/North) doubled to right field to drive in Jared Surman (Kimberly/Kimberly) (Fr.-Kimberly). A Pointer error in the bottom of the first allowed Ripon to tie it up at 1-1. The Pointers regained the lead in the top of the second as Justin Bushong (Rhinelander/Rhinelander) (Sr.-Rhinelander) scored on a fielder's choice to make it 2-1.
That score remained until the bottom of the seventh when the Red Hawks tied the contest up at 2-2 on a sacrifice fly. Ripon stranded the go-ahead run at third in the inning. The Pointers had a runner at third with no outs in the top of the eighth, but could not bring him in as the game remained tied.
The ninth and 10th innings went by relatively quietly as the game went to the 11th. In the top of the 11th, the Pointers broke through as with two outs Eric Fritz (Custer/SPASH) (Fr.-Custer/SPASH) hit a RBI single to left to score Stewart Larsen (Sturgeon Bay/Sturgeon Bay) (Sr.-Sturgeon Bay). The next batter, Brad Archambeau (Watertown/Watertown) (So.-Watertown), singled up the middle to make the score 4-2. Jeff Zielke (Watertown/Watertown) (Jr.-Watertown) sat down the Red Hawks in order in the bottom frame as the Pointers took game one 4-2. The 11-inning game was the longest this season for the Pointers and it was their first win this season when the game went past regulation.
Zielke improves to 1-1 as he struck out three and didn't allow a base runner in two innings. Doug Coe (Appleton/North) was 3-for-4 with a RBI to lead the Pointers at the plate.
Ripon got on the scoreboard first in the nightcap with a RBI single in the bottom of the second. A Brad Frank (Slinger/Slinger) (Sr.-Slinger) two-run home run in the top of the fourth gave the Pointers a 2-1 lead. However, that lead didn't last long as the Red Hawks had five runners come across the plate in the bottom of the fourth. Three runs scored on a bases-clearing double as Ripon led 6-2.
Brandon Scheidler (Chippewa Falls/McDonell) (Sr.-Chippewa Falls/McDonell) had a RBI double in the sixth to cut the lead to 6-3, but Ripon got that run right back in the bottom of the inning. Stevens Point got one run in the ninth, but it wasn't enough as the Red Hawks took game two 7-4.
The Pointers, who were thin on their pitching staff, used six pitchers in game two, including regular shortstop Justin Bushong (Rhinelander/Rhinelander), who pitched one inning of scoreless baseball. Catcher Doug Coe (Appleton/North) also pitched two-thirds of an inning and had one strikeout. Brandon Scheidler (Chippewa Falls/McDonell) and Brad Frank (Slinger/Slinger) both went 3-for-4 to lead the Stevens Point offense.
The Pointers will close out their conference schedule with four games down in Whitewater Friday and Saturday. The Edgewood game that was supposed to be played tonight will be played next Tuesday at 7 p.m. down in Madison.
