March 7, 2004

Box Score

LAWRENCE, KAN. - In the close but no cigar department, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team came within four outs from winning its season opening series versus the University of Kansas here Sunday (March 7). However, the host Jayhawks (14-8-1) scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to gain not only a come-from-behind 8-7 win over UWM (1-2), but a victory in the three-game weekend series as well. The series could still be considered a success for the Panthers as the visitors had yet to step on a diamond this spring before making the trip to Kansas.

The red-hot Milwaukee bats, which rapped 19 hits on Saturday, stayed warm in the early going en route to a three-run top of the first inning. The two-out rally began with a Matt Alexander walk and was followed by a two-run, Ben Stanczyk home run. The long ball was the second of the season for Stanczyk, equalling his total from all of last season. Freshman Ross McCoy continued his impressive early season play in UWM's next at bat, when he drove a solo shot to right center to stake the Panthers to the 3-0 lead.

Kansas struck right back in the bottom of the frame, touching Stanczyk, UWM's ace, for three runs of its own. Matt Baty walked to begin the KU first before Ritchie Price was hit by a pitch. Stanczyk got the next two batters before a Matt Tribble single scored one and a Travis Metcalf double plated two to tie the game at three.

Both starting pitchers settled down as neither team scored over the next three innings. Milwaukee grabbed its second lead of the game, 4-3, in the fifth when the versatile Brooks Graff hammered his second home run of the season. The lead was shortlived, however, as two more KU runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth gave the hosts a 6-4 lead after six innings.

The resiliant Panthers battled back one more time to take another lead thanks to a three-run, seventh inning rally. Jeremy Wilson got the inning jumpstarted with a leadoff single to left center. After a wild pitch, Wilson moved to third on a Steve Sanfilippo base knock. With one out the red-hot Matt Alexander continued his torrid start as he delivered a two-run double to center field. After a KU pitching change Stanczyk singled before a McCoy single drove home Alexander for the 7-6 lead.

Junior hurler Jeremy Leibfried relieved Stanczyk in the seventh, and kept UWM in the lead after getting out of the inning unscathed. The rightie wasn't as fortunate in the eighth, however, as a J.C. Sibley RBI double and Baty run-scoring single gave the Jayhawks an 8-7 lead they would not relinquish.

Milwaukee continued its fine hitting in the season-opening series and finished the game with 10 hits to KU's nine. Stanczyk finished the night 3-5 with a run and RBI while McCoy and Alexander each added two hits and two RBI. Stanczyk allowed five earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts in six innings of work. The rightie remained perfect (6-0) in his UWM career as Leibfried (1-0) took the loss. Chris Smart (3-3) earned the win in relief for Kansas.

UWM will return to action Friday (March 12) with a 3:00 p.m. game at Saint Louis University. The Panthers and Billikens will play three games this weekend at the Billiken Sports Center on the SLU campus.