April 23, 2010

Box Score: Game 1
Box Score: Game 2

NILES, Ohio - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team jumped out to a 7-0 lead before holding on in posting a 9-8 victory over Youngstown State University Friday night at Eastwood Field. The Panthers (16-17, 6-5 Horizon) ending up splitting the doubleheader after the Penguins (18-18, 6-5 Horizon) posted a thrilling 8-7 victory in game one.

Milwaukee jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead after sophomore Paul Hoenecke blasted a three-run home run in the second inning. They made it 7-0 in the third, getting run-scoring hits from junior Sam Sivilotti and senior Nino Guerrero, who extended his hitting streak to 14 games in the process. From there they held on, as the Penguins scored two in the seventh and two more in the ninth to make it close in the 9-8 finale.

Six different players had two hits for UWM, with senior Shaun Wegner (2-for-5), senior Ben Long (2-for-4), senior Tim Patzman (2-for-5), Sivilotti (2-for-5), junior Doug Dekoning (2-for-5) and Guerrero (2-for-3) all chipping in on the 14 hit attack.

Sophomore Kyle Schmidt (3-2) ended up with the win, while sophomore Cameron Amsrud recorded his fourth save of the year.

Game one went back and forth the whole time, with UWM coming back from a three-run eighth-inning deficit to tie it at 6-6. After Youngstown scored another in the bottom eighth, the Panthers came back once again to send it to a dramatic finish. Jonathan Christ made YSU a winner in the last of the ninth, singling to right to score the winning run on a close play at the plate to end it at 8-7.

The Panthers led 1-0 and 3-2, but saw the game tied up at 3-3 before allowing three runs in the bottom of the seventh. The team battled right back, plating three in the top of the eighth. Following two singles with one out, freshman Jonathan Capasso drove in a run to make it 6-4. After Guerrero scored on a wild pitch, UWM tied it on junior Cole Kraft's single that was misplayed by the leftfielder.

Milwaukee outhit Youngstown, 15-to-13, led by a 4-for-4 effort from Hoenecke. In addition, Guerrero had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 13 games and Kraft, senior Ben Long and freshman Alex Erdmann added two hits as well.

Milwaukee ends the weekend with two games at Cleveland State Sunday, with game one of a twinbill starting at 11 a.m. CST.