March 2, 2007

Box Score

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Despite jumping out to a quick lead and a recording a season-high in hits against the University of Kentucky Friday afternoon, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team was unable to find a way to secure its first victory of the season. The Panthers (0-4) scored twice in the top of the first and led 3-0 in the third, only to see the No. 21 Wildcats (10-0) tie the game with three in the fourth and take the lead with a big fifth inning in earning the 16-3 decision.

Milwaukee is taking on its second-straight ranked opponent to start 2007, after facing then-#5 Arkansas in the season-opening series. At 10-0, Kentucky is off to its second-best start in the 103-year history of its program.

"Overall, I felt we swung the bats really well," UWM head coach Scott Doffek said. "We took what the pitchers were giving us and really hit the ball well the other way. Then it just became another example of inexperience. After the fourth or fifth inning we just got to a point where we couldn't slow the game down. We brought a lot of the young guys in and they showed their inexperience."

Junior Grant Berkovitz, batting leadoff for the first time in his career, sent a 2-2 pitch over the left field fence to give UWM a 1-0 lead before the game was even five minutes old. The Panthers then tacked on another run when sophomore Andy Hetebrueg doubled in senior Ross McCoy, who had singled earlier in the frame.

After a scoreless second, the team would make it 3-0 in the third. Junior Nick Wichser singled to start the inning and then came around to score on a fielding error and a wild pitch.

Senior Robert Michalkiewicz (0-1) started strong, holding Kentucky without a hit until the fourth inning. A one-out UK rally followed, with Ryan Wilkes two-run double tying the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth.

"Robert was really in command out there at the start," Doffek said. "Then, in the fourth and fifth innings, things sort of blew up on us."

Two hit batters and a fielding error set the stage for the Wildcat fifth inning and got Michalkiewicz in trouble. Kentucky would roll from there, scoring six in the fifth, two in the sixth and four more in the seventh inning to blow it open.

The Panthers did hit the ball well in recording a season-high 14 hits, but the team went just 4-for-15 with runners on and stranded 10 on the base paths. Sophomore Jesse Hart led the way with three hits, with senior Rob Brockel, McCoy and Wichser all adding two each. Kentucky was led by Wilkes and Sean Coughlin, who each had two hits and five runs batted in.

These two teams continue their series on Saturday, with the first pitch scheduled for noon CST at Cliff Hagan Stadium.