April 20, 2002

Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - UWM rode a complete-game effort from Aaron Bushong to a 2-1 win over Butler and a split of its doubleheader Saturday afternoon.

Butler (22-14, 5-6 Horizon) won the first game, 4-1, on a three-run home run by Dale Mueller in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Bushong (2-3) allowed just one run and four hits in working his second complete game of the season. The sophomore struck out five and allowed only two runners as far as third base.

UWM (12-13, 4-3) grabbed a 2-0 lead by scoring single runs in the second and fourth innings. In the second, David Michna reached on an error and John Vanden Berg drove him in with a single. In the fourth, Adam Christ doubled and scored on a single by Steve Guden. Butler moved to within 2-1 on a double by Ryan Nance in the bottom of the fourth. Bulldog starter Aaron Phillips (4-4) allowed just seven hits in absorbing the loss.

In game one, the two teams battled through a pitcher's duel between UWM's Rob Erickson and Butler's Pat Neshek. The Panthers grabbed a 1-0 lead on a Guden RBI single in the sixth and the Bulldogs tied the game on an RBI single by Jeff Brown in the bottom of the inning.

The Panthers had chances to take the lead in both the eighth and ninth innings. In the eighth, UWM left a runner at third and, in the ninth, Charlie Reschke was thrown out at the plate following a wild throw, ending the inning. Mueller's game-winning homer came with two outs and followed a Panther error that kept the inning alive.

Erickson worked 4 2/3 innings of scoreless ball in just his second start of the season for the Panthers, while Neshek worked the first seven innings for the Bulldogs. Matt Freisleben (2-4) absorbed the loss for the Panthers in relief, though all three runs he allowed were unearned.

The series wraps up tomorrow afternoon with a single game. The first pitch is set for noon.

Notes: UWM head coach Jerry Augustine was ejected in the top of the ninth inning of game one for arguing balls and strikes. It's the first time Augustine has been ejected this season ... Steve Guden extended his season-high hitting streak to seven-games with hits in each contest Saturday. Guden was 3-for-3 in game one ... Saturday's game one was the third extra-inning game of the season for the Panthers. It was also the 14th game this season for UWM decided by three runs or less ... Sunday's weather forecast calls for rain throughout the day. But, Saturday's forecast also called for rain and no precipitation fell during the doubleheader.