ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The No. 18 UW-Stevens Point baseball team (10-5) took a first inning lead and never looked back in a 7-1 win at Washington University (15-7) in the series opener on Saturday.
 
Brenden Canterbury (Waupaca, Wis./Waupaca) had three hits, including an RBI single in the top of the first. He drove in two on the day. Bradley Comer (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) also had a pair of runs batted in with two hits.
 
Trent Van Ess (Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers) had two hits as well. He scored twice while also drawing a walk. Payton Nelson (Wausau, Wis./West) scored a run and drove in one.
 
Van Ess began the game with a walk. Nelson was hit by a pitch. A double play put a runner at third with two outs. Anthony Tomczak (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) drew a walk and an error pushed the first run home. Canterbury singled to center, the only hit of the frame for UWSP, to put the lead at 2-0.
 
Nelson drew a one-out walk in the third. He moved to third on a ground-rule double by Comer. Another WashU miscue plated one run. Canterbury singled again to drive in another for a 4-0 advantage.
 
Jakob Boos (Littleton, Colo./Heritage) drew a leadoff walk in the fourth. He was sacrificed to second by Logan Matson (Neillsville, Wis./Neillsville) and moved to third on a Van Ess single. Nelson hit a single to up the lead to 5-0.
 
The Bears got on the board in the sixth with one run on three hits.
 
Matson began the eighth with a double. He moved to third on a single by Van Ess. Tow batters later, both runners scored on a double by Comer.
 
Casey Pickering (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) was solid in the start, picking up his second win of the season. He went six with four strikeouts. Mason Weckler (Belvidere, Ill./North) threw two scoreless innings in relief. Austin Syvertson (Randolph, Wis./Randolph) struck out two in a scoreless inning of work.
 
The Pointers conclude the two-game series at WashU on Sunday (April 2) with an 11:00 a.m. first pitch.