LA CROSSE, Wis. – The No. 20 UW-Stevens Point baseball team (11-7, 3-3) split the weekend opener at UW-La Crosse (15-4, 8-2) with a 6-5 defeat in game one and a 14-3 run-rule win in game two.
Payton Nelson (Wausau, Wis./West) and
Bradley Comer (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) each hit a home run on the day. Nelson drove in two in each game while scoring three runs on the day. Comer had three RBI with three hits in game two.
Trent Van Ess (Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers) collected five hits on the day going 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBI in game two. He also scored a run in game one.
Brenden Canterbury (Waupaca, Wis./Waupaca),
Tyler Soule (Oregon, Wis./Oregon),
Anthony Tomczak (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) and
Logan Matson (Neillsville, Wis./Neillsville) all had multiple hits on the day.
Game 1 – UWSP 5, UWL 6
UWSP opened the scoring in the third inning.
Jakob Boos (Littleton, Colo./Heritage) hit a one-out double. Nelson followed with a two-run home run to left and the Pointers were up 2-0.
The Eagles got a run back in the bottom of the inning, an unearned tally with just one hit in the frame.
Canterbury started the rally in the fourth with a one-out single. Van Ess was hit by a pitch.
Logan Homolka (Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield) then hit a double to plate one run. Matson singled to drive in another. Boos capped the rally with a sac fly as the lead grew to 5-1.
UWL pushed home three runs on five hits in the fourth to get within 5-4. The Eagles completed the comeback with two runs on three hits in the eighth for a 6-5 lead.
Casey Pickering (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) struck out four in the start. He went 6.1 innings and was in line for the win.
Austin Syvertson (Randolph, Wis./Randolph) had one strikeout in relief.
Mitchell Crawley (Wind Lake, WIs./Muskego) pitched a scoreless 0.2 frames in relief as well.
Game 2 – UWSP 14, UWL 3 (7 inn.)
Van Ess began game two with a double. Two batters later, he scored on Comer's third home run of the season for an early 2-0 lead.
The Eagles rallied back and took the lead, 3-2, on two hits and two walks in the bottom of the first.
In the fourth, Canterbury reached on an infield single to start the frame. Soule doubled to left to pull UWSP even at 3-3. With two down, Van Ess singled to give UWSP the lead, 4-3.
The Pointers seized control in the sixth. Boos and
Kyle Finger (Clintonville, Wis./Clintonville) drew consecutive one-out walks. Matson was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Van Ess singled to plate two. Nelson singled to push home two more. After a walk to Comer reloaded the bases, Tomczak hit a sac fly. A failed pickoff scored another and UWSP led 9-3.
Soule doubled with one away in the seventh. Two batters later, Finger hit a single to put runners on the corners. Matson singled to push in the first run of the inning. Van Ess drove in another with a single. A UWL error allowed two more runs to scored. Comer capped the two-out rally with an RBI single and the 14-3 lead.
Mason Weckler (Belvidere, Ill./North) picked up his third win of the year with 5.0 frames and six strikeouts in the start.
Nick Carpenter (Lake Mills, Wis./Lake Mills) struck out two in 1.1 innings of relief.
Jacob Meinholz (Middleton, Wis./Middleton) was perfect in the final 0.2 innings.
The Pointers and Eagles conclude the series with a 12:00 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday (April 8) in La Crosse.
