May 26, 2007

Box Score

CHICAGO, Ill. - Wright State spoiled junior Jesse Hart's 10th-inning home run heroics, scoring once in the bottom of the 10th to tie it and then again with an unearned run in the 11th to claim a 12-11 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team on Saturday afternoon at the Horizon League Tournament. The Panthers (25-32) and Raiders (36-21) battled it out, exchanging three ties and four lead changes before WSU earned a spot in the league championship.

"That was just a great game," UWM head coach Scott Doffek said. "It was a great college baseball game to watch with a lot of ups and downs and critical plays. I couldn't be any prouder of this team and the way they played."

Wright State's Brian Shoup set a new league tournament game record with three home runs, including one in the bottom of the ninth to tie it. After Shoup's home run in the ninth sent it to extra innings, Hart hit a solo home run off the scoreboard with two outs in the top of the 10th inning to give Milwaukee the lead at 11-10. The Raiders proceeded to knot it up again in the bottom of the frame on a single by Ross Oeder and then won it on a wild play in the 11th.

With runners on first and second and one out, Gerald Ogrinc singled to center. Senior Ross McCoy fielded it and fired a strike to home plate to get the runner, but UWM then committed a throwing error trying to complete a double play on the trailing runner at third base, and Kris Steffen scored the winning run after the ball ended up down the left field line.

"From day one we talked about it being a process and we knew that it was going to be a learning experience with this team," Doffek said. "If you look at the last 20 games, the guys really came a long ways. If you look at the last month, we were one of the best teams in the league."

Milwaukee staged a possible rally in the top of the 11th, beginning with a leadoff single by sophomore Josh Groves. After an out, junior Grant Berkovitz doubled down the left field line to put runners on second and third. McCoy was then intentionally walked, but UWM could not come up with the clutch hit, as WSU reliever Jason Bennion got a pop up and a ground ball to end the threat.

Numerous plays all game affected the outcome, including senior Rob Brockel robbing Justin Parker of what would have been a three-run home run in the seventh inning. Milwaukee nearly added a crucial insurance run in the ninth, but Brockel was called out at home plate on a disputed call to keep the score at 10-9 at the time.

Down 4-0 early, the Panthers stormed back with 10 runs in the fourth and fifth innings to turn a four-run deficit into a six-run lead. Wright State continued to chip away, scoring in each of the final four frames of regulation to send it to extra innings.

After being held without a hit by WSU starter Garret Holleran for the first three innings, Hart led off the Milwaukee fourth with a single to left field. Groves followed with a base hit before Brockel extended his hitting streak to 20 games with an RBI-single to get Milwaukee on the scoreboard. Berkovitz then tied the game, sending the first pitch he saw deep down the left field line for his fifth home run of the season to make it 4-4.

The Panthers didn't stop there, plating six more in the top of the fifth to give themselves a 10-4 advantage. Sophomore Andy Hetebrueg and senior Kyle Silver led off the inning with singles before being chased home by junior Nick Wichser's triple to the wall in right center. Berkovitz and McCoy each drove in a run with singles before sophomore Shawn Wozniak plated two more with a single down the right field line.

Five different pitchers took to the hill for Milwaukee, with senior starter Mike Rauwerdink working 5.2 innings before leaving with a 10-6 lead. He struck out three and walked two, but did give up three long balls. After Wright State loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth, senior Tom Zimmerman came on to get out of the jam, getting a double play ground ball and another out to only allow one run to score as part of his 2.1 innings of work. Brandon Duffy (3-4) suffered the loss, allowing two hits and a run in 1.1 innings.

Bennion (4-1) earned the victory, working the final 4.1 innings for Wright State, giving up just one run.

Every batter in the UWM lineup had at least one hit, with Berkovitz going 5-for-6 with four runs batted in and two runs scored to lead the way. Groves had three more hits to extend his hitting streak to 16, with Wichser moving his to 16 as well with the triple. Hart, McCoy and Hetebrueg all had two hits each.

The Panthers season comes to an end at 25-32 overall, including a 15-7 record in May and 25 victories in the 43 contests that followed a 14-game skid to start the campaign.