MILWAUKEE - Ben Chally singled up the middle with two outs in the ninth inning to send the Milwaukee baseball team to a come-from-behind, 4-3 victory over Oakland University Friday afternoon at Henry Aaron Field.
 
The Panthers (14-25, 4-13 Horizon League) needed more heroics than that after trailing the Golden Grizzlies (10-29, 7-10 Horizon League) by a score of 3-1 in the eighth inning. John Boidanis came through with a huge hit, with his two-run shot to left-center making it 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth.
 
"It starts with Jay Peters," Milwaukee head coach Scott Doffek said. "Through five or six innings, he was just fantastic. Maybe more than anything, that was what the team needed – just to see us come back on somebody."
 
Chally's single made a winner out of Jay Peters, who improved to 6-1 on the season with his fourth straight victory. He threw his second complete game in a row, walking one while striking out a UWM-best nine batters. He allowed six hits and two earned runs.
 
"All season, we've been in tough spots and haven't been able to come up with that clutch hit or clutch play when we really needed it," Doffek said. "And we did it twice today."
 
Peters worked around a leadoff single in the top of the ninth to set the stage for the winning rally. Billy Quirke worked a full-count walk to open it, Chris Kelly sacrificed him to second with a bunt and Quirke raced to third on a fly ball to right center.
 
Oakland chose to intentionally walk Daulton Varsho to face Chally, who proceeded to lace a 2-0 pitch up the middle to plate Quirke and set off the celebration.
 
Peters was dealing early, facing the minimum through the first four innings while chalking up six K's through five.
 
Milwaukee hit the scoreboard in the fifth when Trevor Schwecke scored on a passed ball with the bases loaded.
 
It was 1-0 in the seventh when the Grizzlies went ahead. A single and two hit batters loaded the bases and an error in the outfield allowed a pair of runners to score. OU added on another in the eighth to hold the 3-1 advantage.
 
With two outs and no one on in the UWM last of the eighth, Mike Jordahl worked a walk to give the home team a baserunner. Boidanis then sent the first pitch he saw over the fence in left center to breathe new life into the contest.
 
"I told Boidanis when he went on deck, 'Get something up and hit a home run, ride one out of here'," Doffek said. "He has been swinging well, it was good to have him back in the lineup today – we missed him."
 
Chally finished 2-for-4 with the game-winning RBI. Schwecke had a pair of hits including a double and Boidanis knocked in a pair. The teams combined for just 13 hits on a chilly, windy day. Tyler Pagano had two of Oakland's six safeties.
 
Up next, game two of the series is set for Saturday with a first pitch of 1 p.m.