May 8, 2010

Box Score: Game 1
Box Score: Game 2

DAYTON, Ohio - Seniors Ben Long and Shaun Wegner each drove in four runs to help lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team to a doubleheader split against Wright State University Saturday afternoon at Nischwitz Stadium. The Panthers (23-20, 11-7 Horizon) regrouped to earn the split on the day and take two of three in the weekend series against the Raiders (25-20, 13-6 Horizon) with a 10-7 victory in game two. The win was also historic in that it was the 500th for Milwaukee as an NCAA Division I program.

"That was huge and was sort of a repeat of last weekend," UWM head coach Scott Doffek said. "We lost the opener against Valparaiso yet found a way to win the series. And that was what we told our guys today after the first game. Even though we lost the opener, we still had a chance to win the series. And they did; they came back, had a short memory and battled for a `W'."

The Panthers scored the first seven runs of the nightcap and had to earn it. They scored the seven runs in just two innings, but started each rally with two outs and the bases empty.

Freshman Jonathan Capasso began things with a single before junior Cole Kraft walked. Wegner started the scoring with a single to center and senior Dan Buchholz drove in another with a single to left. Long then followed with the big hit of the frame by sending a long three-run home run to straightaway center. Two more singles followed before the final out was recorded.

"That just goes to show you that you have to play all three outs," Doffek said. "Some times that last out of the inning is the hardest one to get."

Then, in the fourth, Kraft doubled with two outs and Wegner cleared the bases with an inside-the-park home run after the WSU outfielders collided trying to make the catch.

The Raiders scored four unanswered runs to make it a game at 7-4 before Milwaukee would tack on three insurance runs in the sixth inning. Wegner drove in another with a single to center, a run scored on an error and Long plated the final on a fielder's choice.

Senior Lucas Annen recorded his second save of the year after a shaky first two batters. He threw 4.0 solid innings, allowing just one earned run while striking out two. Senior Jeff Gordon (4-0) worked the first five innings to stay unbeaten on the season.

The top three spots in the batting order combined to go 7-for-13, as Kraft (2-for-3, three runs), Wegner (3-for-5, three runs, four RBI) and Buchholz (2-for-5) all had multi-hit games. Sophomore Paul Hoenecke was 3-for-4 and Capasso finished 2-for-4. After UWM held Garrett Gray to no hits in his first three at-bats, he singled twice to extend his hitting streak to 28 games.

The Panthers played today without senior Tim Patzman, who was lost for the rest of the season to an injury. He ends the season with a .417 average and leaves a hole in the middle of the lineup.

"He is one of the best hitters in our lineup and has been for the past two years," Doffek said. "It's a big hole in there, but I don't think it's one guy stepping up but everybody has to collectively be a little bit better. I don't know if we are going to fill Timmy's shoes, but we have to soften the blow as much as we can."

Game one got out of hand early, with Wright State plating three in the first inning and six more in the second to take control en route to the 20-3 win. Eight hits in the first two frames did the damage, chasing sophomore starter Kyle Schmidt (3-3) after just 1.2 innings and eight earned runs. Casey Henn (6-0) threw well for WSU, striking out eight and walking none in six-complete innings of work.

The Panthers finally broke through when Long drove in a run in the fourth, but by then it was 12-1 and the game was out of hand. Kraft also had an RBI-single in the fifth and Capasso had a run-scoring triple to round out the scoring for UWM.

The team ended the game with just seven hits, with Kraft (2-for-3) the only player with more than one. Aaron Fields was 3-for-3 with three runs scored and Jake Hibberd and Tristan Moore each drove in four to lead Wright State.

It will be a quick return home for the Panthers, embarking on five more home games this week. The team will play Northern Illinois Wednesday at Miller Park before hosting Butler and UIC for doubleheaders Friday and Saturday.