MILWAUKEE - Freshman Daulton Varsho hit a three-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning to send the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team to a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over Wright State University Saturday at Henry Aaron Field.
 
"That was pretty exciting … that was exactly what this team needed," Milwaukee head coach Scott Doffek said. "We had not played well at all the first two games against a very good Wright State team. I thought that game, that we played really good baseball. Justin pitched really well, I thought we did a great job swinging the bats – but we just had a hard time getting a big two-out hit or getting a runner in from third a few times."
 
The Panthers (31-18, 13-13 Horizon League) trailed the Raiders (34-14, 18-8 Horizon League) by two runs headed into their final at bat. They put together two singles off reigning Horizon League Relief Pitcher of the Year Andrew Elliott to set the stage for Varsho, who sent the 3-1 pitch deep to right center and off the scoreboard for the huge victory.
 
"Daulton is a talented kid," Doffek said. "He's kind of learning on the fly and that was a huge home run."
 
Down, 4-2, senior Derek Peake led off the ninth with a solid single through the right side. After back-to-back flyouts, senior Mike Porcaro extended the game and brought the winning run to the plate with a base knock to center field.
 
The single helped him tie his career-high for hits in a game with four. He had six total on the day, including career hit No. 200 in his first at bat in the opener. In the process, he became just the 11^th player in school history to reach the milestone.
 
"He swung the bat great all weekend long," Doffek said. "As far as the 200 goes, we have had a lot of talented players here and quite a few of them have not made it to 200. It's an honor and a testament to how hard he has worked at it."
 
That brought Varsho to the plate. After three straight balls to open the at bat, he watched a strike down the middle to make it 3-1. He then put a charge into the next offering for his fourth home run of the season and made it four RBI on the day, setting off a wild celebration at the Hank.
 
"It sure feels good right now," Doffek said. "Hopefully we can carry some of that positive energy and momentum into next weekend and play inspired baseball – play the way we can, because we are capable of playing well and I hope this is a step in the right direction."
 
Milwaukee outhit Wright State by a count of 14-to-6 in the nightcap. Porcaro's 4-for-5 effort led the way, with Varsho (2-for-5), Peake (2-for-5) and junior Luke Meeteer (2-for-5) all adding multi-hit efforts.
 
The home run made a winner out of senior Gunnar Eastman (2-0), who had pitched the eighth inning. UWM also got a terrific start from sophomore Justin Langley, who walked one and struck out 10 over 8.0 innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs.
 
Elliott (5-3) was charged with three runs, allowing seven hits. He walked nobody and struck out four.
 
Wright State broke open the first game of the day in the late innings, turning a 6-6 tie in the top of the seventh inning into an easy 14-6 Raider win. They collected 20 hits, including an impressive 5-for-6 day from Mitch Roman and a 4-for-5 showing by Michael Timm.
 
The Panthers recorded 12 hits of their own, led by two-hit efforts from Meeteer, Peake, Porcaro and junior Mitch Ghelfi. Varsho drove in a pair and Meeteer homered to lead off the game.
 
Senior Joe Pavlovich started but did not factor into the decision. He allowed four earned runs in 5.0 innings, walking one and striking out five. Senior Justin Jaquish (3-3) suffered the loss, allowing four runs and three walks in his 1.2 innings out of the bullpen.
 
The Panthers open the final week of the regular season by welcoming Northern Illinois Tuesday, set for a first pitch of 3 p.m.