May 21, 2009

Box Score

LORAIN, Ohio - Wright State University used two big innings on the way to a victory over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team Thursday afternoon in the Horizon League Tournament at Pipe Yard Stadium. The Panthers (26-26) raced out to a 3-1 lead early on, only to see the Raiders (31-27) put up a 10-run inning in the fourth on its way to a 20-4 win.

"There is no question that we did not pitch the baseball very well today - that goes without saying," Milwaukee head coach Scott Doffek said. "But, Wright State really gets a lot of the credit. They really put a display on how you are supposed to repeat quality at bats, inning after inning. They get a lot of the credit. All we can do now is forget about it and come back and play better tomorrow. Pitch better and find a way to win a game."

Down 1-0 after a home run to lead off the game, the Panthers turned the tide quickly by getting two in the bottom of the first inning. Sophomore Cole Kraft and Doug Dekoning started the frame with a single and double before senior Josh Groves drove them both in with a chopper over the right side of the infield to make it 2-1 at the time. UWM then tacked on another in the second to take a 3-1 advantage.

And that was when the bottom fell out. Reigning league player of the year Jeff Mercer led off the top of the fourth with a solo home run to center, and, by the time he came around to bat again and add his second home run of the inning, the Raiders ended up plating 10 runs on 12 hits in the rally and that was the game.

WSU was clicking offensively all day, as it ended the game with 23 hits and dropped six home runs in the contest. Twede and Mercer each hit two home runs and combined for 11 runs batted in.

Milwaukee was led by Kraft who went 2-for-3 and Dekoning extended his hitting streak to 13 games.

Four pitchers worked for UWM in the game, with senior Andy Hetebrueg (3-4) getting tagged with the loss after allowing eight runs in 10 hits in just 3.1 innings on the hill.

The Panthers will be back at it in the consolation bracket tomorrow morning, getting play underway at 10 a.m. CST against Valparaiso University at Pipe Yard Stadium.