March 24, 2007

Game 1: UWM 3; UIC 1
Game 2: UWM 9; UIC 2

CHICAGO, Ill. - Senior Mike Rauwerdink and junior Adam Ferrell combined on a three-hitter in game one to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team to a 3-1 victory over the University of Chicago at Illinois on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers (2-14, 2-1 Horizon) swept the doubleheader against the Flames (7-12, 1-2 Horizon) with a convincing 9-2 win in game two at Les Miller Field.

"This feels great ... I am really happy for the guys - we have really been grinding through a hard time," UWM head coach Scott Doffek said. "It's good to get the monkey off our backs and to be able to do it on the first weekend of Horizon League play is a nice bonus."

The opener was a pitcher's duel between Rauwerdink (1-4) and UIC's Steve Crnkovich (1-3). The game featured just two runs and six hits through the first seven innings, but Milwaukee finally broke it open in the eighth.

After a single by sophomore Andy Hetebrueg and a sacrifice bunt, Crnkovich induced a pop-up for out number two. An intentional walk to junior Jesse Hart set up the force out, but that also ended Crnkovich's day. The Panthers greeted UIC reliever Andrew Davis roughly, getting two-out RBI-singles from senior Rob Brockel to make it 2-1 and next from junior Nick Wichser to push the lead to 3-1.

"We have been talking about that since the fall," Doffek said. "We need to throw strikes and get two-out hits. It's a tough thing to coach - they need to relax and let the game take care of itself."

The Milwaukee pitching staff carried the team to victory, limiting the potent UIC offense to just one unearned run on three hits. Rauwerdink worked seven complete innings, allowing the three hits and the unearned run. He struck out two but did allow five walks. Junior Adam Ferrell earned his first save with two perfect frames, shutting down UIC 1-2-3 in the eighth and ninth innings.

The Flames took the 1-0 lead early, scoring a run on a sacrifice fly after some help from a UWM fielding miscue. The Panthers got that run back in the fifth when senior Ross McCoy walked, went to second on a groundout and scored on sophomore Dan Buchholz's single up the middle.

Milwaukee ended game one with seven hits of its own, with Wichser the only batter to record a multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 effort.

The Panthers got Doffek his first victory in the opener and did not stop there. They finished game two with a season-high nine runs, starting the scoring in the third inning on RBI's from senior Kyle Silver and Brockel to make it 2-0. After an RBI-double by junior Troy Vesling in the third, UWM broke it open with a six-run fifth inning.

"We came out early and then put up a crooked number and coasted from there," Doffek said.

Silver singled, Hart doubled and Brockel walked to load the bases. Wichser walked to force in a run and junior Grant Berkovitz added a run-scoring single. Hetebrueg followed with a double to left field that plated two, senior Ross McCoy's sacrifice fly made it 8-0 and freshman Shaun Wegner extended the lead to 9-0 with a run batted in.

UIC ended junior Dan Luczak's shutout bid in the fifth, plating two runs on Jake Carr's home run to left field. Luczak (1-4) worked into the sixth, walking just one while striking out a season-high six Flames. Senior Tom Zimmerman followed with two scoreless innings, sophomore Jordan Herbert with a scoreless eighth and junior Brandon Duffy worked the ninth, striking out two. Joe Skinner (1-3) was tagged with the loss.

Silver (3-for-5) and Hetebrueg (3-for-4) paced the 13-hit attack, with Hetebrueg adding a team-best two runs batted in. Berkovitz went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, while Hart and Vesling also had two hits apiece. Carr's two hits and two RBI led UIC.

The Panthers will look to extend their new winning streak next week Tuesday, heading back to Chicago to take on non-conference foe Chicago State in a doubleheader. First game of the twinbill versus the Cougars is scheduled for 2 p.m.