March 19, 2010

Box Score: Game 1
Box Score: Game 2

MANHATTAN, Kan. - Junior Chad Pierce struck out seven batters and did not give up an earned run in eight innings, but it was not enough as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team suffered a 2-1 loss to Kansas State University in the bottom of the ninth Friday afternoon. The Panthers (4-10) were up, 1-0, on the 25th-ranked Wildcats (15-3) until the bottom of the eighth inning, only to see K-State scratch across an unearned run to tie the contest before winning it on a two-out, walk-off single in the ninth.

"Chad Pierce was just outstanding today," UWM head coach Scott Doffek said. "It was unfortunate again that we couldn't pull it out. But we schedule games like this for a reason. If you want to beat a team like this, you have to do it in all three facets of the game. We just have to do a better job of executing in the early innings when there are runs to be had."

Pierce had allowed just two hits through his first seven scoreless innings against a Kansas State offense that came into the day batting .343 and averaging over eight runs and 10 hits a game. In the eighth, Pierce recorded two outs and had a runner on first following a walk. After a stolen base and error put the runner on third, the next batter hit a ground ball to short that looked to end the inning. After a disputed call at first base, the runner scored and the game was tied.

UWM went quietly in the top of the ninth before the Wildcats strung together a rally in their half. Following a one-out single, Jake Brown bounced to first base. After the fielder hesitated on the throw, Brown was able to beat it out for a single. Carter Jurica then came through with a two-out single to end it, sending Milwaukee to its fourth walk-off loss of the season, and second in three games against a nationally-ranked opponent.

"It was a tough day to hit given the weather," Doffek said. "Chad did a great job and we just ran into an unfortunate situation in the eighth. But we just didn't make them work for their outs and didn't capitalize on our chances."

Scoreless until the fifth, the Panthers made it a 1-0 game on a base hit off the bat of junior Doug Dekoning. On the play, Dekoning was caught in a rundown, but senior Dan Buchholz was able to score from third without a throw.

They looked to tack on an insurance run in the top of the eighth, but could not push anything across. A single by senior Nino Guerrero and a double by junior Sam Sivilotti put runners on second and third with just one out. Following an intentional walk to load the bases, the K-State reliever recorded back-to-back strikeouts to thwart the rally.

Pierce threw 8.0 innings in getting the no-decision, allowing three hits and the unearned run overall. He walked three and struck out a season-high seven batters.

The offense ended with just five hits of its own. Senior Tim Patzman had one to extend his hitting streak to eight games, while Buchholz saw his streak come to an end at eight-straight.

Milwaukee was unable to take advantage of its opportunities in the opener of the doubleheader, falling 4-0.

The team had its leadoff runner reach base in five of the first seven innings, but three double plays and two runners getting picked off limited the threats.

Kansas State also got a quality start of its ace. Ryan Daniel (5-0) went seven strong innings, scattering eight hits while striking out seven and walking just one.

Sophomore Kyle Schmidt (0-2) matched Daniel most of the day except in one situation. He allowed three runs in the first inning, with five of the first six batters recording hits. After settling down, Schmidt threw very well, allowing just four harmless hits in his final five innings of work.

"Kyle did a good job today of keeping us in the game," Doffek said. "He put up zero after zero and gave us a chance after the first. We just couldn't get anything going against their first pitcher."

Milwaukee had eight hits, with each of the top seven batters in the lineup recording at least one. Patzman was 2-for-4 to lead the way. Adam Muenster had a game-high three hits to pace K-State's attack.

If the weather holds, the schedule will see one game tomorrow, starting at 1 p.m. Check the UWM website for updates.