March 26, 2009

Box Score

VALPARAISO, Ind. - Senior Brad Lusti pitched into the eighth inning to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team to a 6-5 victory over Valparaiso University Thursday afternoon at Emory Bauer Field. The Panthers (5-13, 1-0 Horizon) let the Crusaders (7-12, 2-2 Horizon) make it interesting, as a 6-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth nearly disappeared, getting the final out with the tying run at second base to start out league play with a big victory.

"Brad Lusti was very good today and really gave us a chance to win," UWM head coach Scott Doffek said. "It was another quality start, which is what his last three starts have been now. The difference today was that he was able to stay out of the big inning. It has been our mantra so far this year to make it tough. And, really, until we find out how to be a little more aggressive in the strike zone, we are going to be an up-and-down team. For the most part, the bullpen did a nice job, but had a hard time closing it out in the ninth."

Lusti (1-2) worked 7.1 innings, allowing two runs in scattering seven hits. He struck out six and walked just one in his strong outing. He worked efficiently all day, retiring nine-straight from the second through the fifth inning while also working out of jams when needed.

Sophomore Doug Dekoning added what turned out to be a key RBI-single in the top of the ninth, driving in junior Tim Patzman with two outs to make it 6-2 at the time. Patzman started the inning with a single, battling through a 10-pitch at bat before lining one to center.

Valpo put two runners on via bases on balls with one out in the ninth inning and got on board with a two-run triple. After a two-out single made it 6-5, junior Lucas Annen came in to get the final out for his first career save on a fly ball to left that ended up getting caught in foul territory.

"A 1-0 start in league play is great," Doffek said. "When we got down here we talked about us being 0-0. We have been working so hard since September to be ready for today. And, to get out 1-0 is a great start."

UWM used four pitchers in the bottom of the eighth, but escaped a huge jam when freshman Cameron Amsrud struck out Valpo's Josh Wallace and senior Craig Meier came in to punch out Kyle Gaedele with two outs and the bases loaded.

A big one also came in the fifth, when Valpo put two runners on base with back-to-back hits. A strikeout and a ground ball made it first and third with two outs before another huge strikeout by Lusti ended it.

Down 1-0 after one inning, UWM struck back quickly in getting a run in the top of the second to tie it. Senior Shawn Wozniak doubled with one out and then came home on an RBI-single from Patzman.

The Panthers would go on to add four unanswered runs to take a 4-1 lead. Two of those runs came in the fourth, getting one on a run-scoring single from senior Josh Groves and the other on a two-out line drive off the first baseman's glove that junior Shaun Wegner turned into a base hit.

It was Groves again in the fifth, driving a ball to the opposite field over the outfielder's head that plated Dekoning, who had walked and advanced to second on a sacrifice.

"We got some two-out hits and really had some `grind-em out' at bats where we worked the count," Doffek said. "We also had a couple big plays on defense that were the difference in the game."

Milwaukee ended the game with 11 hits, with Groves, Wegner, Patzman and Dekoning all recording two each. Groves led the way with two RBI. Kyle Muhlsteff led VU with a 3-for-5 afternoon.

These two teams will wrap up the series with a doubleheader tomorrow, with the first pitch - originally slated for noon - now set to start at 11 a.m.