STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point baseball team (28-9, 22-4) put on an offensive display in a doubleheader sweep of UW-Platteville (15-23, 8-18) in the home finale on Wednesday.  The Pointers belted three home runs in a 14-9 game one win and seven extra-base hits in game two led to a 13-3 run-rule win.  The sweep, coupled with a split between UW-Whitewater and UW-Eau Claire, puts UWSP back in a tie for first in the conference.
 
Payton Nelson (Wausau, Wis./West) blasted three home runs, two in game one and another in game two.  He collected eight hits in 10 at-bats with seven RBI and six runs scored.  In addition to his three long balls, Nelson hit two doubles and stole a base on the day.
 
Kyle Finger (Clintonville, Wis./Clintonville) also hit a dinger in game one, one of three hits on the day.  He drove in four and scored three runs.  He also drew two walks.
 
Tommy Duddleston (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle Institute), Matt Baumann (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower), Bradley Comer (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander), Quin Henwood (Appleton, Wis./North) and Jacob Lillge (Little Chute, Wis./Little Chute) each recorded three hits in the doubleheader. Duddleston had four RBI and scored three runs.  Baumann also had four runs batted in and he scored once.  Comer and Henwood had an RBI and two runs scored each in game two.
 
Game 1 – UWSP 14, UWP 9
A Pioneers error, Finger walk and a single by Lillge loaded the bases with no outs in the second.  Duddleston tripled to left clearing the bases.  Two batters later, Nelson singled to give UWSP a 4-0 lead.
 
UWP got single tallies in the third and the fourth to cut UWSP's advantage in half.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, Nelson led off with his third single of the game.  Comer followed with a single to put runners at the corners.  Lucas Luedtke (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) drove in a run on a fielder's choice.  Two batters later, Baumann plated a run with a double.  Finger ripped a three-run shot to left as UWSP went ahead 9-4.  Lillge continued the inning with a single and moved up on a wild pitch.  With two down, Aaron Simmons (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) hit an RBI double.  Nelson belted a home run to extend the lead to 12-4.
 
The Pioneers put up three runs in the sixth on two hits, one being a home run.
 
In the seventh, Duddleston was hit by a pitch to begin the inning.  Two batters later, Nelson drilled his second long ball of the game to left-center for a 14-7 lead.
 
UWP scored twice in the ninth on just one hit to complete the scoring. 
 
Casey Pickering (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) struck out five in 5.0 innings of work to earn the win.  Nick Paulsen (Balsam Lake, Wis./Unity) lasted 3.1  in relief with three strikeouts.
 
Game 2 – UWSP 13, UWP 3 (8)
The Pioneers struck first with a run in the third inning on three hits.
 
Simmons doubled to start the UWSP fourth.  With two away, Luedtke doubled to tie the game at 1-1.  Henwood followed with an RBI single.
 
In the fifth, Duddleston reached on a one-out error.  With two away, Nelson crushed his third homer of the day to left for a 4-1 lead.
 
Simmons drew a leadoff walk in the seventh.  Nelson doubled and Comer drew a walk to load the bases.  Luedtke dropped a single into left-center to drive in two.  Henwood drew a walk to reload the bases.  Baumann followed with a sac fly.  Finger doubled to plate another.  Lillge followed with a sac fly and Duddleston singled to give UWSP a 10-2 lead.
 
Nelson registered his eighth hit of the day with a leadoff double in the eighth.  Comer hit an RBI single.  Two batters later, Henwood singled to put two aboard.  Baumann followed with a two-RBI triple to walk-off in run-rule fashion.
 
Nick Carpenter (Lake Mills, Wis./Lake Mills) pitched 7.0 in the start to earn the victory.  He struck out five.  Zack Haupt (Carlsbad, Calif./San Dieguito Academy) struck out two in an inning of relief.
 
The Pointers and Pioneers close out the regular season with a twin bill in Platteville on Saturday (May 15). First pitch is at 1:00 p.m.