LA CROSSE, Wis. – Junior Trent Van Ess (Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers) hit two home runs among five hits as the No. 20 UW-Stevens Point baseball team, (12-8, 4-4) splits games in the series finale doubleheader at UW-La Crosse (16-5, 9-3). UWSP won the opener, 12-3, before dropping the finale, 12-6.
 
Van Ess went 4-for-5 in game one with a home run, two doubles, two RBI and four runs scored. In game two, he hit another home run with two more RBI.
 
Logan Homolka (Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield) collected three hits and scored three times in game one. Bradley Comer (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander), Jakob Boos (Littleton, Colo./Heritage) and Payton Nelson (Wausau, Wis./West) each hit safely in both games. Nelson hit his second home run in as many days with two RBI Comer drove in three and Boos had two RBI.
 
Game 1 – UWSP 12, UWL 3
The Eagles took a first-inning lead with two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first.
 
Homolka singled to begin a UWSP rally in the fourth. Van Ess followed with an infield single to put two aboard. With two down, Boos doubled to drive in two to tie the game. Nelson drew a walk and Comer singled to give the Pointers a 3-2 lead. Anthony Tomczak (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) followed with an RBI single to up the lead to 4-2.
 
UWL hit a solo home run in the fourth to cut the lead to one. Van Ess got the run back with a solo home run in the fifth.
 
A UWL error in the seventh opened the door for another rally. Homolka singled to put two aboard. Van Ess followed with a double to push home a run. A passed ball and throwing error let two more runs cross the plate for an 8-3 lead.
 
Boos singled to start the eighth. Nelson singled with a run coming in on another error. Comer hit a sac fly to push the advantage to 10-3.
 
UWSP added two more runs in the ninth. Homolka singled and Van Ess doubled. A wild pitch plated one run. A groundout pushed home another for the 12-3 final.
 
Tyler Beyer (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis./Lincoln) tossed 4.0 innings in the start. Nick Paulsen (Balsam Lake, Wis./Unity) picked up the win with 5.0 scoreless frames of relief. He struck out five with no walks allowed.
 
Game 2 – UWSP 6, UWL 12
UWL broke the scoreless draw with a run in the second on two hits. The Eagles added four runs in the third on five hits and a pair of UWSP errors.
 
Boos led off the fourth with a walk. Nelson followed with a two-run home run to left-center. Comer drew a walk and, two batters later, Van Ess homered to pull UWSP within a run at 5-4.
 
The Eagles broke the game open in the sixth. UWL scored five times on four hits and a UWSP miscue.
 
UWSP got a run back in the seventh on a Comer RBI single. In the eighth, Kyle Finger (Clintonville, Wis./Clintonville) drove in a run on a single.
 
JD Schultz (Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) fanned four in the start. Nick Carpenter (Lake Mills, Wis./Lake Mills) had two strikeouts, Nathan Krommenakker (Rudolph, Wis./Lincoln) had one and Sidney Ferry (Paw Paw, Mich./Homeschooled) fanned two in relief.
 
The Pointers head to De Pere for a non-conference game at St. Norbert on Wednesday (April 12). The single game is slated for 3:00 p.m.