FAIRBORN, Ohio – Facing elimination from the Horizon League Baseball Championship, the Milwaukee baseball team survived and defeated Northern Kentucky, 9-1, Thursday night from Nischwitz Stadium.
 
Starting pitcher Mike Edwards threw a complete game for the Panthers (34-20-1), surrendering just one run on two hits while striking out three. The righthander carried a perfect game into the fifth, retiring 14-straight to start the ballgame, while holding the Norse (15-42) scoreless until the seventh inning.
 
Edwards' complete game two-hitter ties a Horizon League Tournament record for the least amount of hits allowed in complete game with four others. Meanwhile, Milwaukee had no shortage of runs, scoring in five-of-eight innings for a total of nine in the win.
 
"It was huge for Mike to establish the zone early on and do good job and give our bats an opportunity and gather a lead like we did," said head coach Scott Doffek. "Edwards' performance was exactly what we needed, given that our bullpen is taxed already and we have a couple more games to win. So for him to give us a complete game for us is exactly what you need."
 
Shortstop Trevor Schwecke got the ball rolling for the Panthers right away in the first by recording his 50^th RBI with a single through the left side, scoring Mike Ferri who singled earlier in the inning.
 
After three quick outs from Edwards and retiring nine straight after two and a half innings, Milwaukee's Tyler Bordner cracked his seventh home run of the season – a two-run shot over the left field fence to extend the Panther lead to 3-0.
 
In the fourth, Milwaukee added to its lead for a total of five after scoring two more runs on one hit. Devin Rybacki drove in both runs with a double down the right field line, but not before Colin Kreiter and Matt Quartel drew walks to set the stage in front of him.
 
Northern Kentucky threatened the next inning getting two runners by way of walk, but Edwards settled down and got Noah Fischer to ground out to end the inning. Edwards had retired 14-straight batters before committing a walk in the fifth.
 
Milwaukee continued its streak of two runs in the fifth and seventh innings, but saw Edwards' no hitter and shutout bid broken up in the sixth and seventh innings. Despite the one run in the seventh, Edwards continued to cruise through the Norse lineup in the final two frames and picked up an important win for the Panthers to continue in the tournament.
 
MKE will take on the loser of the winner's bracket game, No. 1 Wright State vs No. 2 UIC Friday afternoon. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. (CT) from Nischwitz Stadium.