May 19, 2006

Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Senior Matt Curran broke a 3-3 sixth-inning tie with a grand slam to back the pitching of senior Rick Cavaiani, as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team posted a 12-5 victory over Butler on Friday afternoon. The Panthers (29-23, 16-12 Horizon) added five more runs in the eighth inning to open up the game against the Bulldogs (18-32, 9-19 Horizon).

Cavaiani (8-1) tied a school record with his seventh-consecutive victory on the season, not having lost since April 2nd. He allowed just two earned runs in six innings, striking out four and walking two.

After walks to the first two batters and a sacrifice put runners on second and third with one out in the top of the sixth inning, Curran made Butler pay for its decision to intentionally walk junior Kyle Silver to load the bases. He sent an 0-1 pitch over the right field scoreboard for his third home run of the season, giving UWM a 7-3 lead it would not relinquish. Ironically, it was also his second grand slam of the season (Indiana State, April 4).

The Panther led immediately when senior Mike Goetz led off the contest with a triple and scored on an error by the outfielder. Just as quickly, the Bulldogs were back in front 2-1 when they scored twice off Cavaiani in their half of the first.

It stayed that way until the fifth, when senior Jeremy Wilson hit his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to left field that gave UWM a 3-2 advantage. Butler tied the game in its half of the fifth on a run-scoring double by Joe Dempsey, setting the stage for Curran's heroics an inning later.

The Panthers kept their chances for a second-place finish in line with the victory. Front-running UIC beat Wright State 7-3 on Friday, giving Wright State and Milwaukee identical 16-12 league records.

Wilson finished 3-for-5 with two runs batted in and two runs scored. Senior Joe Nowicki had a team-high three hits, while Curran's four RBI led the way. Goetz went 2-for-5 to record his 32nd multi-hit game of the season and extended his hitting streak to 32 games in the process. UWM outhit Butler 14-to-13 in the game, with Jeff Brown going 4-for-5 to pace Butler.

These two teams finish the regular season schedule with a doubleheader on Saturday. The first game is scheduled for a noon start at Bulldog Park. One more victory will give the Panthers 30 wins in a season for the sixth time in the past nine years.