May 4, 2013

Box Score

VALPARAISO, Ind. - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team saw a late lead evaporate in the final few innings in falling to Valparaiso University, 10-7, Saturday afternoon at Emory G. Bauer Field.

The Panthers (21-18, 11-6 Horizon League) led 4-0 and 6-1, only to see the Crusaders (22-23, 9-8 Horizon League) score nine unanswered runs - including a key five-run eighth inning - to win for the second-straight day. UWM rallied in the ninth and had the go-ahead run at the plate but could get no closer.

Milwaukee held a 6-5 lead in the eighth inning before the Panthers fell apart. The Crusaders scored five runs in the frame on just three hits, helped along by a pair of walks and a pair of hit batters that all came with the bases loaded and forced in four of the five runs that scored.

It was certainly all UWM early, taking a 4-0 lead in the second. Sophomore Luke Meeteer missed a grand slam by a foot, sending a ball off the top of the left field fence with the bases loaded. He settled for a three-RBI double, a hit that came just after UWM got on the board on an RBI-single by junior Sam Koenig.

Senior Cale Tassi was pitching well, keeping Valpo off the scoreboard through the first four innings before allowing a single tally in the fifth. He came out for the sixth and was relieved after walking the first two batters. He ended his day with four walks and eight strikeouts.

"Cale was cruising - by far and away his best start of the year," Milwaukee head coach Scott Doffek said. "And then we had a long inning and he came out and was really tentative with his release point and lost command of the strike zone. I thought Justin Jaquish came in and did a good job. They had a couple of infield hits and ended up scoring and then we just did not control the strike zone down the stretch."

Up 6-3 in the top of the seventh, the Panthers looked to add some insurance runs after starting the inning with runners on first and third and no one out. But they got a runner picked off the bases and then could not come up with a clutch hit in the frame.

"That was a huge momentum play - they get out of it and from there we did not recover," Doffek said. "We did not throw enough strikes and were unfortunate with the bounce of the ball."

Freshman Mitch Ghelfi was 3-for-5 to pace the UWM offense. Junior Ryan Solberg had two hits and scored twice and Meeteer ended tying his career high with four runs batted in. Spencer Mahoney led the Crusaders with a 3-for-3 day.

The final contest in the three-game weekend series gets underway Sunday at 1 p.m.