MEQUON, Wis. - Luke Meeteer helped the Milwaukee baseball team to a victory in game two of a doubleheader Sunday, ending the game with a bases-loaded walk-off single in the ninth inning for a 6-5 win at Kapco Park.
The Panthers (11-12, 4-1 Horizon League) trailed the Crusaders (9-15, 5-3 Horizon League) by a score of 5-0 in the fifth inning, scoring the final six runs of the contest to record the split on the day. Meeteer's three-run home run in the fifth had tied it and his base hit to center in the final frame drove in the winning run and set off the on-field celebration.
Meeteer finished the game with two hits and four RBI, while
Daulton Varsho (3-for-4) and
Eric Solberg (3-for-5) each had three-hit days.
Billy Quirke went 2-for-5 with a key two-run double in the fifth and
Dan Barwick added two hits, scored a pair of runs and stole a base.
Down 5-0, Milwaukee made it a new game with an impressive fifth. Barwick doubled, Solberg singled and both came home on Quirke's two-bagger. Varsho singled to extend the rally and Meeteer followed with his second home run of the day to left center to tie the contest up with the three-run shot.
"We were fortunate to string like five or six hits in that inning," Milwaukee head coach
Scott Doffek said. "We came up with a couple of big hits and then Meeteer hits the three-run homer after making one of the best plays I have ever seen in center field [Meeteer made a full-out diving catch on the warning track earlier]. We got a little energy back in the dugout and then I thought the bullpen was phenomenal."
Jake Tuttle (2-1) picked up the win with three innings of scoreless relief, working around any jams, walking one and striking out five.
"The bullpen was just outstanding today," Doffek said. "Came in and did a great job and allowed us to win a ballgame. Tuttle made some huge pitches when he had to."
Included in that was a key spot late in the contest. Following a leadoff single in the ninth and a one-out walk, Tuttle got a strikeout looking and set up the walk-off opportunity by beating the Valpo baserunner to the bag on a chopper to first to end the frame.
In the opener, the Panthers fell behind early but responded, tying the game in the second on a home run by Meeteer before falling behind again at 2-1 an inning later.
The team jumped back ahead in the fourth, tying the game on an infield groundout off the bat of
Jeremy Wright before taking a 3-2 lead on
Cole Heili's double to the right center gap.
That was it for the offense scoring runs, with Dalton Lundeen (3-3) holding the Panthers in check late after working out of trouble in the sixth. Tied, 3-3, in the top of the sixth, Josh Clark hit a home run to deep right field that gave Valpo the lead it would not relinquish. Two more in the seventh made the gap larger and another in the eighth provided insurance.
"Game one we didn't pitch great, we didn't play with a ton of energy," Doffek said. "It just wasn't a very good game."
Meeteer finished 3-for-4 to lead the offense. Wright was 2-for-4. Both he and Meeteer added a run scored and an RBI. Nolan Lodden and Clark both finished with three hits for the visitors.
Brian Keller started, allowing three runs and 10 hits in his 5.0 innings, striking out six.
The Panthers have four games up next on the schedule this week, starting with a Tuesday drive to take on Iowa. Start time against the Hawkeyes is set for 6:05 p.m.
