WHITEWATER, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point baseball team (14-22, 6-16) dropped both games at No. 16 UW-Whitewater (28-9, 19-3) in league play on Friday. UWSP nearly came back in a 7-6 defeat in game one. The Pointers fell in eight innings, 13-2, in game two.
Aaron Simmons (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) had four hits and drove in four on the day. He homered in each game to take the team lead in the category.
Tommy Duddleston (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle Institute) also racked up four hits with two RBI and three runs scored.
Game 1 – UWSP 6, UWW 7
The Pointers struck first in the third inning.
Bradley Hansen (Racine, Wis./Union Grove) led off with a singled and moved into scoring position on a sac bunt. Duddleston singled to put runners at the corners. Simmons followed with an RBI single. A throwing error by UWW allowed another run to cross the plate for a 2-0 lead.
The lead didn't last long as the Warhawks scored six times in the bottom of the third on four hits, including a bases-clearing triple.
Hansen started the UWSP fifth with a walk as the Pointers tried to chip away at the deficit.
Gabe Affeldt (Monticello, Minn./Monticello) singled as Hansen moved to third. An RBI bunt single by Duddleton plated a run to make it 6-3.
After the Warhawks added a run in the sixth, UWSP got back to work. Affeldt singled with one away in the seventh and stole second. Duddleston doubled and Simmons followed with a two-run home run to get UWSP within a run at 7-6.
The Pointers got a two-out runner in the eighth, but went in order in the ninth.
Mitchel Neubauer (Brussels, Wis./Southern Door) threw 5.2 innings of relief with a strikeout to keep UWSP within striking distance.
Game 2 – UWSP 2, UWW 13 (8)
The Warhawks jumped ahead with single tallies in the first and second. UWW added two more in the fourth to extend the UWSP deficit to 4-0. The Warhawks doubled the lead with four runs on five hits in the fifth.
Simmons got the Pointers on the board in the sixth with a solo home run with one away. It was his second long ball of the day and team-leading fifth of the year.
UWW tacked on two runs in the seventh to put UWSP behind 10-1.
Duddleston singled to begin the eighth. Simmons walked and both runners advanced on a groundout.
Bradley Comer (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) flew out to center for a sac fly and an RBI.
The Warhawks ended the game with a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth for the run-rule win.
The Pointers close out the regular season on Saturday (May 4) with another doubleheader at UW-Whitewater. First pitch is slated for 12:00 p.m.
