NORMAL, Ill. – The UW-Stevens Point baseball team (2-0) exploded for 28 runs on opening day for win over Illinois Tech (0-3) and Carroll (3-5). UWSP won the opener versus IIT by 15-13 final in 11 innings and 11-10 against Carroll.
Aaron Simmons (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) belted a pair of home runs, half of UWSP's four long balls on the day. He led the team with six RBI.
Payton Nelson (Wausau, Wis./West) collected a team-best six hits and scored five times on the day. He also drove in two runs.
Matt Baumann (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower) had five hits, four RBI and three runs scored.
Lucas Luedtke (River Falls, Wis./River Falls),
Logan Matson (Neillsville, Wis./Neillsville),
Quin Henwood (Appleton, Wis./North) and
Kyle Finger (Clintonville, Wis./Clintonville) all had multiple hits on the day for UWSP.
Game 1 – UWSP 15, IIT 13 (11)
Baumann led off the game with a single and stole second . Nelson singled and
Bradley Comer (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) lifted a three-run home run over the fence to put UWSP in front.
IIT got two back in the bottom of the first and UWSP got right back to work in the second. Matson was hit with a pitch with one away. Two batters later, Simmons lunched his first home run to put UWSP ahead 5-2. Consecutive IIT errors allowed another run to score for a 6-2 UWSP lead.
Henwood led off the UWSP third with a single. Luedtke followed with a two-run run shot to put the Pointers up 8-2.
IIT got three runs in the third, four more in the fourth and tacked on another in the fifth.
Nelson singled with one down in the sixth and he stole second. Two batters later, Finger hit a single to get UWSP within 10-9. The Scarlet Hawks got the run back in the bottom of the sixth.
Matson and Baumann drew back-to-back walks to begin the seventh. Simmons doubled to plate a run and Nelson followed with a sac fly to tie the game at 11-11.
IIT retook the lead with two runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Jakob Boos (Littleton, Colo./Heritage) led off the eighth with a walk. Then with two outs, Simmons launched his second home run of the game to tie the score at 13-13.
The game remained tied until the 11th. Finger hit a single to lead off. Henwood walked and pinch hitter
Connor Flanagan (Rolesville, N.C.) moved both into scoring position with a sac bunt.
Anthony Tomczak (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) hit a sac fly to put UWSP ahead. Matson followed with a safety squeeze for a two-run lead.
Sidney Ferry (Paw Paw, Mich./Homeschooled) closed the door with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 11th to secure the win. Ferry pitched the final 3.2 frames and struck out five.
Game 2 – UWSP 11, Carroll 10
Carroll took the lead with a solo home run to begin the second inning, the Pioneers only hit in the first three frames.
The Pointers quickly erased the deficit in the bottom of the second. A Carroll error sparked an eight-run inning by UWSP. Seven straight UWSP hitters reached with one away with Luedtke, Boos, Matson, Baumann, Simmons and Nelson getting hits in succession. Comer hit a sac fly and Finger capped the scoring with an RBI single as UWSP led 8-1 after two.
Luedtke began the third with a single. Two batters later, Matson singled and Baumann followed with a hit to drive in a run making it 9-1.
Carroll plated six runs on just four hits in the fourth to close within 9-7. The Pioneers tied the game at 9-9 with a pair of runs in the sixth.
UWSP regained the lead in the seventh. With two away and Matson at second, Baumann hit a double for a 10-9 lead. The Pioneers knotted the game again in the eighth with a run on one hit.
In the bottom of the eighth, Nelson singled to start the frame. He stole second and with two outs, Henwood doubled him home for the winning run.
JD Schultz (Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) struck out five in the start.
Caleb Krommenakker (Rudolph, Wis./Lincoln) picked up the win with 2.0 frames of one-hit ball.
Tyler Beyer (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis./Lincoln) earned the save with a hitless ninth.
The Pointers travel to Florida for seven games beginning on March 17 against Wheaton (Mass.). First pitch is slated for 1:30 p.m. ET.
