PLATTEVILLE, Wis. –
Kyle McHugh (Polonia, WI/Rosholt) hit two home runs and drove in seven in game one as the No. 6 UW-Stevens Point baseball team split with UW-Platteville, winning the opener 19-5 in seven innings before dropping game two 7-6 in 11 innings, on Saturday afternoon at Kendall Murray Field.
No. 6 UW-Stevens Point 19, UW-Platteville 5 (7 inn.) | Box UW-Stevens Point (17-9, 8-6 WIAC) scored in every inning, including five in the fourth and seven in the seventh, to snap a 14-game winning streak by UW-Platteville (18-8, 9-1 WIAC).
Kyle McHugh (Polonia, WI/Rosholt) powered the Pointers' offense by hitting a grand slam and a three-run home run as part of a career-high seven-RBI game.
The 19 runs were the most the Pointers have scored in a game since a 21-4 victory at UW-Superior on April 27, 2013, a stretch of 92 games. The loss was the first home defeat of the season for the Pioneers, who entered the day 10-0 at Kendall Murray Field.
Bobby Gregorich (Plover, WI/SPASH), McHugh,
Jimmy Coady (La Crosse, WI/Aquinas) and
Ben Gerber (Stoughton, WI/Stoughton) each had three of UW-Stevens Point's 18 hits and McHugh,
Riley Spetz (Sturgeon Bay, WI/Sevastopol) and
Brandon Kranz (Waukesha, WI/West) each scored three times. Five pitchers worked for UW-Platteville and four gave up multiple runs.
UW-Stevens Point led 3-1 after three innings before pulling away with a five-run fourth, highlighted by McHugh's grand slam. With UWSP up 8-1, the teams then traded the next eight runs, leaving the Pointers with a 12-5 lead entering the seventh.
In the seventh, UW-Stevens Point's first five batters reached base, including a RBI single by
Ray Greco (Downers Grove, IL/North) and a bases-loaded walk to
Taylor Carlson (Madison, WI/LaFollette). Spetz singled in a run and Gregorich plated one with a sacrifice fly before McHugh hit his second home run of the game to cap the scoring.
Mitch Beau (Fond du Lac, WI/St. Mary Springs) allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits in five innings of work to improve to 4-1 this season. The two earned runs are tied for the most the senior has allowed in any of his seven starts this season.
UW-Platteville 7, No. 6 UW-Stevens Point 6 (11 inn.) | Box UW-Stevens Point broke a 3-3 tie with three runs in the top of the 11th inning but UW-Platteville responded with four runs in the bottom of the frame. The Pioneers' Evan Greco ended the game with a walkoff three-run triple to center.
The Pointers used two home runs in the top of the 11th to take a 6-3 lead. Spetz led off the inning with a solo home run to left and Coady followed a
Cody Hanke (Marathon, WI/Marathon) double with a two-run shot to left.
The Pioneers opened the scoring on a two-run home run by Casey Schroeder in the bottom of the third.
Taylor Carlson (Madison, WI/LaFollette) got the Pointers on the board in the fifth with a solo home run of his own to left center.
UWSP took a 3-2 lead in the sixth after Gregorich scored on a wild pitch and Hanke doubled in Coady. However, UWP got a two-out RBI double from Max Meitzler in the bottom of the eighth to send the game to extra innings. The Pointers had a chance with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth but were unable to score.
Ben Gerber (Stoughton, WI/Stoughton) had three of UW-Stevens Point's 13 hits in the game, while Gregorich, Coady and Greco each had two. For UW-Platteville, Tanner Galeazzi was 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI and Schroeder scored twice and drove in a pair.
Five pitchers worked in the game for the Pointers.
Ryan Williams (Stevens Point, WI/SPASH) lasted the longest, throwing four innings and giving up one run.
David VanVliet (Lowell, MI/Grand Rapids Christian) followed Williams with two scoreless frames.
Austin Daniels threw the first seven innings for the Pioneers before giving way to Trevor Hall, who earned the win to move to 2-0 this season.
The two teams return to Kendall Murray Field for their second-straight doubleheader on Sunday, April 19 at noon and 3 p.m.
