LA CROSSE, Wis. – The sixth-ranked UW-Stevens Point baseball game dropped three one-run games to UW-La Crosse, as the Eagles topped the Pointers 7-6, 4-3 and 5-4 (8 inn.) on Wednesday afternoon at Copeland Park.
 
UW-La Crosse 7, No. 6 UW-Stevens Point 6 | Box
 
Ben Morgan hit a two-out, three-run double to clear the bases in the bottom of the seventh and give UW-La Crosse (14-7, 7-4 WIAC) a 7-6 win in the opener. The game was originally started on Tuesday, April 7 but was halted in the first inning due to weather.
 
UW-Stevens Point (16-7, 7-4 WIAC) built a 4-0 lead after two and a half innings. The Pointers scored two unearned runs on an error as part of a three-run third and a sacrifice fly by Jimmy Coady (La Crosse, WI/Aquinas) made it 4-0, scoring Kyle McHugh (Polonia, WI/Rosholt).
 
The Eagles came right back with three unearned runs in the bottom of the third off UWSP starter Mark Kowalke (Baraboo, WI/Baraboo). Kowalke went six innings, giving up four runs, one earned, with five walks and eight strikeouts in a no-decision.
 
UW-Stevens Point took a 5-3 lead in the fifth as McHugh scored his second run of the game on a fielder's choice. The teams traded runs in the bottom of the seventh and top of the eighth before Morgan's double gave the Eagles the lead.
 
Jameson Sadowske threw a 1-2-3 ninth to record his sixth save of the season for UWL, while Jake Stern picked up the win with three innings of shutout relief.
 
UW-La Crosse 4, No. 6 UW-Stevens Point 3 | Box
 
UW-Stevens Point erased a 3-0 deficit to tie the game at 3-3 after eight innings but UW-La Crosse's Eric Vatch scored on a wild pitch with one out in the ninth to give the Eagles another one-run win. UWL had loaded the bases with a walk, a sacrifice bunt, a single and an intentional walk prior to the wild pitch.
 
The Pointers overcame the 3-0 deficit with single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. A Bobby Gregorich (Plover, WI/SPASH) sacrifice fly and a groundout by Ray Greco (Downers Grove, IL/North) got UWSP within one. UW-Stevens Point then tied the game as Riley Spetz (Sturgeon Bay, WI/Sevastopol) scored from third after an errant throw to second as the Eagles tried to catch Cody Hanke (Marathon, WI/Marathon) stealing.
 
Nic Barnes gave UW-La Crosse an early 1-0 lead with a two-out, bases-loaded single up the middle in the first but Bobby Gregorich (Plover, WI/SPASH) gunned down Morgan at the plate to keep the early damage to one run. The Eagles added a run in the fourth on a home run by Justin Anderson and one in the fifth on a RBI single by Bryce Barsness.
 
Ben Cejka allowed two runs, one earned, on just three hits in seven innings for UWL before being replaced by Sadowske, who earned the win by tossing the final two frames. The duo limited UWSP to a season-low four hits in the game.
 
Ryan Williams (Stevens Point, WI/SPASH) threw 2.1 scoreless innings out of the UWSP bullpen.
 
UW-La Crosse 5, No. 6 UW-Stevens Point 4 (8 inn.) | Box
 
Barnes delivered a two-out, game-winning single down the left-field line, scoring Travis Buxton-Verstegen to send the UW-La Crosse to its third one-run win of the day. Buxton-Verstegen had tripled to center after the first two batters were retired, as the Eagles scored just the fourth earned run off Mitch Beau (Fond du Lac, WI/St. Mary Springs), who entered the game with the eighth-best ERA in the nation (0.60).
 
UW-La Crosse scored four runs on just one hit in the third inning that included three walks and a hit batter. The lone hit of the frame was a two-run double by Alex Cordova to the left-center field gap.
 
Gerber got UW-Stevens Point on the board in the fourth inning with a single up the middle that plated Greco for an unearned run. The score remained 4-1 until Riley Spetz (Sturgeon Bay, WI/Sevastopol) hit a clutch two-out, three-run double to tie the game off Sadowske. The first two UWSP hitters of the inning were retired before the Pointers loaded the bases for Spetz.
 
Spetz, Gregorich and McHugh each had two hits for UW-Stevens Point, while Cordova had two hits for UW-La Crosse. UWSP outhit UWL 10-5 in the game.
 
In his first appearance of the season, David VanVliet (Lowell, MI/Grand Rapids Christian) logged three scoreless innings out of the bullpen for the Pointers, allowing one hit and one walk with one strikeout.
 
UW-Stevens Point looks to snap a four-game skid with a four-game weekend at UW-Platteville on Saturday & Sunday, April 18-19 at noon and 3 p.m. both days. The Pioneers currently lead the WIAC with an 8-0 conference record and are a perfect 10-0 at home.