WHITEWATER, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point baseball team (32-11) rallied from behind three times on Saturday at the WIAC Tournament (presented by Culver's). UWSP avenged its opening round loss with an 8-3 win over UW-Stout to reach the Championship. After rallying from behind to take the lead twice, the Pointers ultimately saw their tournament run end with a 13-9 loss to UW-Whitewater.
Lucas Luedtke (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) went 4-for-4 and came a home run shy of the cycle in game one. He drove in three and scored twice.
In game two,
Matt Baumann (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower) collected two hits, including a home run. He drove in four and scored twice.
Bradley Comer (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) had five hits on the day. He had three RBI and scored twice.
Tommy Duddleston (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle Institute) also recorded five hits over the two games. He scored twice and drove in one.
Game 1 – UWSP 8, UW-Stout 3
The Blue Devils put up single tallies in the third and fifth to put UWSP in a 2-0 hole.
Jacob Lillge (Little Chute, Wis./Little Chute) singled to start the bottom of the fifth. Duddleston reached on a bunt single and
Aaron Simmons (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) singled to load the bases. Then with two outs, Comer plated a run with a double. Luedtke followed with a two-RBI double and scored following a wild pitch and an error to put UWSP in front 4-2.
Comer led off the seventh with an infield single. He scored on a triple from Luedtke.
Quin Henwood (Appleton, Wis./North) lifted a sac fly to right to make it 6-2.
Duddleston drew a leadoff walk in the eighth. After moving to third on a failed pickoff, he scored on a base hit by
Payton Nelson (Wausau, Wis./West). The Pointers loaded the bases on a single by Comer and a walk to Luedtke. A wild pitch allowed a run to score for an 8-2 advantage.
Caleb Krommenakker (Rudolph, Wis./Lincoln) picked up the win with 6.0 frames. He struck out four.
Austin Syvertson (Randolph, Wis./Randolph) pitched the final 3.0 to earn the save.
Game 2 – UWSP 9, UWW 13
UWW put up two runs in the first on five hits to take an early lead and held the lead until the fourth.
Nelson drew a leadoff walk in the fourth. With two away, Henwood reached on an infield single. Baumann then drilled a three-run home run to right giving UWSP a 3-2 edge.
The lead dissipated in the bottom of the frame. Two hits and two UWSP miscues led to three runs for UWW.
Lillge led off the fifth with a triple. Duddleston drew a walk to put runners on the corners. Nelson lined an RBI single through the left side, but the Pointers could only get one in to trail 5-4.
After UWW got a run in the bottom of the fifth, Henwood started the sixth with a double. He scored on a single by Baumann. Finger reached on a fielder's choice and, two batters later, Duddleston roped a double to right to tie the game. Simmons was intentionally walked to load the bases for Nelson, who plated a run with a groundout. Comer laced a single to center pushing home two more for a 9-6 lead.
The Warhawks regained the lead in the seventh with four runs on five hits. A three-run home run in the eighth for UWW capped the scoring.
Nick Paulsen (Balsam Lake, Wis./Unity) worked 5.0 in the start with four strikeouts.
Nick Carpenter (Lake Mills, Wis./Lake Mills) and
Nathan Krommenakker (Rudolph, Wis./Lincoln) each struck out one in relief.
The Pointers will await the NCAA Selection show on Sunday to see if an NCAA Tournament bid is in the offing.
Through the WIAC Tournament, the Pointers hit 13 triples and 57 home runs as a team, both are top-4 season totals in program history. Earlier in the year, Simmons set the program record for career triples.
