May 22, 2014

Box Score

MEQUON, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back, handing UIC a 12-4 loss Thursday afternoon in the Horizon League Tournament at Kapco Park.

The Panthers (21-27) made quick work of the second-seeded Flames (24-26), scoring three times in the third inning and twice more in the fourth before eventually building a 9-1 advantage.

"Baseball is a crazy game sometimes," UWM head coach Scott Doffek said. "I give our hitters a lot of credit. They really put a lot of pressure on (UIC starter) Michelson. We made him bring the ball up and pounded out a bunch of hits - and two-out hits - which are demoralizing. Our guys get a lot of credit for that."

Sophomore Brian Keller (2-7) was the beneficiary, working the first 8.0 innings in allowing four runs, all earned, on seven hits. He did not allow a hit until the fourth inning while adding five strikeouts.

"He made some huge pitches when the game could have gone either way," Doffek said. "Early on, I thought he did a great job of setting the tempo. He fought himself a little bit in the middle part of the game but made some big pitches to allow our offense to relax and get it done."

The 7-8-9 hitters in the UWM lineup combined for seven runs scored, seven hits and four runs batted in to pace a potent 15-hit attack.

Sophomore Nick Unes went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, junior Tyler Hermann finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored and freshman Eric Solberg had a big two-RBI hit that opened the scoring and tacked on a third RBI later in the game.

Sophomore Mitch Ghelfi continued his strong play in the postseason, finishing 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a pair driven in.

Junior Ryan McShane and sophomore Dan Barwick (1-for-1, run scored) each added two RBI apiece.

Fast-paced and scoreless until the top of the third, the Panthers struck first on Solberg's single up the middle that plated a pair of runs. Junior Derek Peake and McShane tacked on RBI-singles in the fourth to make it 5-0 at the time.

Keller worked around trouble when needed, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh and stranding two more runners in the eighth.

With the victory, Milwaukee knows it will play in the 7 p.m. game tomorrow night. It will take on the winner of the Wright State/Youngstown State games that starts at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Check back with the UWM website for updates.