DAVENPORT, Fla. – The No. 7 UW-Stevens Point baseball team (7-3) took a first-inning lead, but couldn't hold on as No. 9 Johns Hopkins (14-2) pulled ahead for good in a 12-3 loss for the Pointers to end the Florida trip.
 
Bradley Comer (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander), Jakob Boos (Littleton, Colo./Heritage), Logan Matson (Neillsville, Wis./Neillsville) and Matt Baumann (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower) had two hits each for the Pointers. Comer and Boos had an RBI each.
 
UWSP got a leadoff double from Trent Van Ess (Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers) in the bottom of the first. He scored on a throwing error as Payton Nelson (Wausau, Wis./West) moved to second on the play. Two batters later, Comer roped a double down the right field line to plate Nelson for a 2-0 lead.
 
The lead lasted just five batters into the second inning. The Blue Jays scored six times in the second inning on five hits. JHU added two more in the fourth on three hits and got the same results in the fifth to put UWSP behind 10-2.
 
The Blue Jays tacked on one in the sixth and one more in the eighth to make it 12-2.
 
Anthony Tomczak (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) singled to start the bottom of the eighth. Matson also singled with one away and a Kyle Finger (Clintonville, Wis./Clintonville) single loaded the bases. Boos drove in a run on a fielder's choice as UWSP made it 12-3.
 
Baumann started the ninth with a double down the right field line. He moved to third on a wild pitch, but the Pointers weren't able to get any runs in the frame.
 
Alex Fortier (Minocqua, Wis./Lakeland Union) made his season debut in relief. Kale Weisenberger (Stratford, Wis./Stratford) and Bryce Ehr (Plover, Wis./SPASH) each made their Pointers' debut in relief with Ehr notching his first collegiate strikeout.
 
UWSP will return to Wisconsin and begin conference play on Saturday (March 25) with a 12:00 p.m. doubleheader at UW-Platteville.