MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team used an 11-run outburst in the seventh inning to help post the biggest comeback in head coach Scott Doffek's tenure Wednesday against Chicago State University.
 
The Panthers (19-12) trailed the Cougars (7-27) by a score of 10-1 in the third inning before beginning the crazy comeback victory, winning 15-11.
 
"Baseball is crazy … it really, really is," Doffek said. "We didn't do much of anything well in the first three innings, we certainly didn't pitch well and our at bats were not very good. I give them a lot of credit. Being down 10-1 takes some serious resiliency to fight back and find a way."
 
On the day, the team recorded the biggest come-from-behind win since Doffek took over in 2007. The nine-run deficit erased easily topped the former biggest such feat, set back in April of 2008 when Milwaukee trailed Cleveland State, 6-0 in the third inning, before claiming a 7-6 win.
 
"You can't figure it sometimes," Doffek said. "Sometimes you hit the ball hard and they catch it, sometimes they fall in. There are so many variables, that's what makes baseball the greatest game."
 
The offense set a season high with the 15 runs, coming on the strength of 13 hits. Freshman Daulton Varsho led the way with a 3-for-4 day, driving in three runs. Sophomore Eric Solberg (2-for-3, RBI), senior Tyler Hermann (2 hits, 2 runs, 3 RBI), senior Sam Koenig (2-for-4, 2 runs), and junior Luke Meeteer (2 hits, 3 runs, 2 RBI) all joined in on the fun at the plate.
 
Koenig's first hit of the day – a single to right field in the bottom of the third – was a milestone, marking the 200^th of his career to make him the 10^th player in program history to record 200 or more hits at the NCAA Division I level.
 
The heavy lifting came in the seventh inning, with the 11 runs approaching the school record of 14 runs in a single frame. The team sent 15 batters to the plate, using six hits, four walks and a hit batter to turn a 10-3 Cougar advantage into an improbable 14-10 lead by Milwaukee.
 
Big hits came throughout the entire frame. Varsho started it with an RBI-single and senior Mike Porcaro followed with a walk to force home the next. Hermann then doubled to chase home a pair and force a pitching change.
 
The barrage continued. Consecutive walks forced in another run and a sac fly made it 10-9. Meeteer then completed the comeback, with his double to right center driving in a pair and handing UWM the lead at 11-10. A wild pitch brought in another before Varsho added his second hit of the inning – a double down the right field line – that scored two more.
 
That made a winner out of junior Jonathan Nick (1-0), who pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Eight different pitchers appeared on the mound, with sophomore Adam Reuss (2.0 IP, 0 runs, 2 K) and senior Cody Peterson – who worked a scoreless ninth – the only others to not get scored upon by a Chicago State offense that piled up 11 runs and 14 hits on the day.
 
The visitors were led by Mattingly Romanin, who had three hits and drove in five on the afternoon.
 
Up next, the Panthers remain at home and welcome Youngstown State University for a three-game series. Game one is set for Friday, scheduled for a first pitch of 3 p.m.