April 15, 2006

Box Score: UWM 7; Youngstown State 4
Box Score: UWM 10; Youngstown State 12

MILWAUKEE - Junior Rob Brockel hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to help lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team to a 7-4 victory in game one of a doubleheader against Youngstown State on Saturday at Henry Aaron Field. The Panthers (14-16, 6-7 Horizon) missed a chance to sweep the twinbill and move to .500 on the year when the Penguins (13-21, 5-8 Horizon) rallied from a 7-5 deficit in the eighth inning of game two to win 12-10.

Brockel's home run in game one provided just the insurance the Panthers would need and backed a solid effort by senior starter Aaron Sorenson (2-2). Sorenson pitched seven complete innings, scattering nine hits while allowing just one earned run. He struck out four and walked one. Senior Jed Dolske came on in the eighth with a 4-2 lead and pitched the final two innings to record his fourth save of the year.

Milwaukee fell behind in the first when Youngstown State strung together two doubles in between three strikeouts to grab a 1-0 lead. It bounced right back with three of its won in the bottom of the frame, getting sacrifice flies from junior Ross McCoy and senior Joe Nowicki before senior Zak Rivera followed with his second home run of the season.

The Penguins plated an unearned tally in the fourth to make it 4-2 and it stayed that way until the UWM eighth. McCoy led off the inning with a single and Rivera followed with a double. Brockel then sent a deep shot over the left field wall to make it 7-4 at the time.

YSU rallied for two in the ninth, but Dolske closed the door.

Every spot in the Panther line-up had at least one hit, with senior Mike Goetz, Rivera and Brockel all finishing with a team-high two. Brockel's three runs batted in was a game-high. Charles Shultz led YSU with three hits and Erich Diedrich had a team-best two RBI.

Game two was a back-and-forth affair that saw UWM give up leads on two different occasions, including a 7-5 advantage heading into the eighth inning.

Down 5-4 in the seventh, the Panthers grabbed the momentum on Goetz's three-run shot to right center field, plating sophomore pinch-runner John Sarcia and senior Matt Curran to take a 7-5 lead.

Youngstown State turned the game around quickly, getting to Brockel (1-1) for six runs on four hits, chasing him before getting an out. It turned into a six run inning, giving YSU an 11-7 lead they would not relinquish.

The Panthers made it a game in the ninth, scoring once on an RBI-double off the bat of Goetz and then adding two more when sophomore Jesse Hart followed with a two-run home run to make it 12-10. UWM could get no closer as Ryan Sellman (3-0) settled down to get the final out via a strikeout.

Milwaukee had jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first on RBI-singles from McCoy and Nowicki, backing a solid outing from junior Mike Rauwerdink. Rauwerdink did not factor in the decision, but allowed just four hits in 5.1 innings pitched, striking out six. He did not allow a runner past first base until the fifth, but was done in in that frame by an error and a hit batter when Lou Gattozzi followed with a three-run home run to tie the game.

UWM banged out 15 hits, led by a 4-for-6, three run, four RBI game from Goetz to increase his best-in-the-nation average to .525 and up his current hitting streak to 10 games. Hart added three hits while Curran and sophomore Grant Berkovitz both had two. Gatozzi led the Penguins with three hits, while teammate Brandon Caipen had four runs batted in.

These two teams will be back at in on Sunday, with a 1 p.m. start to close out the weekend series.