April 3, 2005

Box Score

NORMAL, Ill. - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team struck for six runs in the second and three more in the eighth on its way to a 10-6 win over Illinois State, Sunday afternoon in Normal, Ill. The Panthers (6-12) won the weekend series with the Redbirds (12-14) after splitting a pair of games on Saturday.

With the game in a 6-6 tie, the Panther bats woke up again, scoring three runs with two outs in the top of the eighth inning. Senior Charlie Reschke singled to start the rally, and moved to second on an errant pick off attempt. After sophomore Rob Brockel was hit by a pitch, junior Joe Nowicki scored both runners with a double to center. Nowicki scored as junior Matt Curran followed with a single.

Milwaukee jumped out to a 6-1 advantage when Nowicki led off the second inning with a double and, two batters later, scored on sophomore Ross McCoy's single to centerfield. Senior Steve Sanfilippo followed with a walk, before junior Mike Goetz scored McCoy with a single. Both Sanfilippo and Goetz moved up 90 feet on the throw. Junior Jeremy Wilson scored Sanfilippo on a sacrifice bunt. Junior Zak Rivera then walked and was followed by Reschke's second home run of the season, a three-run shot to right field.

Illinois State had jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the first inning, then after the Panthers' six run outburst, scored single runs in the second and third to pull within 6-3. With two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth the Redbirds knotted the score at 6-6.

The Panthers added an insurance run in the ninth, making the score 10-6. Goetz hit a one-out single, and scored on a wild play two batters later. Wilson was hit by a pitch and Rivera reached on a fielder's choice, which put Goetz on third, before a Redbird error allowed him to score.

Junior Korey Keller (1-2) picked up the win with 3.1 innings of two-hit relief. He picked up a pair of strikeouts, while walking none and allowing just one earned run. Junior Jed Dolske pitched a perfect ninth for UWM.

Five Panthers collected multiple hit on the afternoon. McCoy broke out of a hitting slump to finish 3-for-4 with a run and RBI, while Goetz, Reschke and Nowicki picked up two hits and scored twice each. Curran also finished with a pair of base hits.

UWM returns to action with a mid-week doubleheader at IPFW, Wednesday afternoon in Ft. Wayne, Ind. Game one between the Panthers and Mastodons gets underway at noon.