Box Score May 25, 2013
Box Score

NILES, Ohio -
For the second-straight game, one uncharacteristic inning decided the outcome as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team was eliminated at the Horizon League Tournament after suffering an 11-6 loss at the hands of Wright State University Saturday afternoon at Eastwood Field.
The Panthers (29-21) trailed the Raiders (25-29), 8-1, but never gave up, closing the deficit to three runs after scoring five in the sixth and seventh innings combined. That went on to include having the tying run at the plate in the seventh and the go-ahead run at the plate in the eighth inning before WSU added some insurance in the ninth. In fact, the missed opportunities were the story of the game, as UWM left 16 runners on base in the contest.
"Today was definitely not our finest hour," Milwaukee head coach Scott Doffek said. "You can't give up big numbers like that and we did it in both games. If you can just give up two or three runs, you have a chance to fight back. Just the momentum and energy it takes to come back, it was just too big of a mountain to climb."
Four walks, two errors and a wild pitch helped open the floodgates in the fourth, as Wright State batted around in sending 13 to the plate in that eight-run rally that included just four hits and changed the momentum of the contest in an inning that never seemed to end.
UWM put two on the board in the sixth on a single by sophomore Michael Porcaro combined with a throwing error, but WSU answered with a run of its own in the top of the seventh.
"I was very proud of the way the guys continued to battle," Doffek said. "We fought, we had opportunities, we had the bases loaded a couple of times, but we just could not come up with that really big hit. You just can't let up an eight-spot on the board. It's next to impossible. Fortunately for us, we did it early enough in the game where we had a fighting chance, but it's just a big hole to dig out from."
The Panthers tried to make some noise in their half of the fourth; loading the bases on a single by junior Sam Koenig and a pair of walks, but Cody Kopilchack recorded the big strikeout to eliminate the threat. Milwaukee also had the bases loaded with two outs in the second inning but could not break through at the time.
The Panthers used small-ball to get on the board, breaking up the scoreless affair with a run in the third. Sophomore Luke Meeteer beat out an infield single and Porcaro followed with a single to left center. That set the stage for back-to-back bunts, with senior Will Fadness advancing the runners with a solid sac bunt and freshman Mitch Ghelfi bringing in the run with a suicide squeeze of his own.
UWM outhit Wright State, 12-to-11, on the day, with Porcaro pacing the offense with three hits. Senior Jonathan Capasso was 2-for-4 and Koenig finished 2-for-3.
Junior Mike Schneider (8-3) suffered the loss after allowing seven runs in his 3.1 innings of work. He gave up five hits and walked three. Kopilchack picked up the victory with nine K's in 5.2 innings, allowing three runs.
With the loss, Milwaukee ends the season at 29-21 overall. Wright State advances to take on Valparaiso University in the championship Sunday.