AUBURNDALE, Fla. – All nine spots in the lineup got a hit as the UW-Stevens Point baseball team (8-1) knocked off No. 24 Johns Hopkins (8-8) by a 9-5 final in the Pointers' Florida finale. UWSP finished the trip 6-1 with wins over two ranked teams.
Bradley Comer (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) and
Anthony Tomczak (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) had two hits apiece and Tomczak also drew a pair of walks. Comer had an RBI and a run scored while Tomczak scored twice.
Lucas Luedtke (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) had the loudest hit, a two-run blast to right late that gave UWSP a cushion.
Matt Baumann (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower) and
Aaron Simmons (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) also had two RBI in the game. Simmons extended his hitting streak to 17 with an RBI single in the third.
JHU jumped out in front early taking a 2-0 lead two batters into the bottom of the first.
In the second, Luedtke drew a walk to start the frame. Tomczak also walked and both advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch. Baumann ripped a single to center to plate both runners and tie the game at 2-2. Simmons continued the inning with a walk.
Payton Nelson (Wausau, Wis./West) hit a single to load the bases and UWSP went ahead as Comer drew a walk.
After JHU posted a run in the bottom of the second to tie the game, it was Tomczak again part of a scoring rally. He doubled with one away and moved to third on a wild pitch.
Logan Matson (Neillsville, Wis./Neillsville) drove him in with a single to left. Baumann followed with a walk and both runners advanced on a balk. Simmons then sliced a single through the left side plating both runners as UWSP took a 6-3 lead.
Neither team scored again until the seventh.
Quin Henwood (Appleton, Wis./North) led off with a single. Tomczak drew a walk and
Jakob Boos (Littleton, Colo./Heritage) plated a run with a single to left. The Blue Jays put up two runs in the bottom of the seventh on two hits and a UWSP miscue.
Comer began the ninth with a double to the fence in left-center. Two batters later, Luedtke drilled a two-run blast to right for a 9-5 lead.
Marcus Jaworski (Iola, Wis./Iola-Scandinavia) made his collegiate debut with a start. He went 2.0.
Jacob Meinholz (Middleton, Wis./Middleton) tossed 4.0 scoreless innings in relief scattering three hits.
Tyler Beyer (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis./Lincoln) and
Nathan Krommenakker (Rudolph, Wis./Lincoln) both had a pair of strikeouts as each went 1.0 frames.
The Pointers return to Wisconsin to open league play on Saturday (March 26). First pitch of game one at No. 12 UW-Whitewater is set for 12:00 p.m.