STOCKTON, Calif. – The Milwaukee baseball team fell behind early and trailed the Pacific Tigers on Friday evening at Billy Hebert Field and were unable to comeback, falling to its host by a 9-6 score.
 
The Panthers (2-2) trailed by a 7-1 margin after the first four innings and chipped away at the deficit scoring the next four runs as Jack Thelen drove in three of the four including his first home run of the season. However, the comeback attempt fell short as Pacific (1-3) regained a four-run lead. Milwaukee added a late run in the ninth, but it was not enough.
 
"We just didn't play clean enough to win," said head coach Scott Doffek. "The conditions were tough, and we didn't handle them very well. I thought we did some really nice things in the box tonight, but unfortunately it was not enough."
 
Milwaukee outhit Pacific by a 14-12 margin, as Thelen led the way with three hits while driving in three and scoring a pair. Marcus Cline, Mark Connelly and Luke Seidel all had two hits and drove in one, as Connelly and Seidel also had doubles. Justin Hausser also had two hits on the night and scored a run.
 
The Panthers had a runner on in each of the first two innings but couldn't do anything more, while it was Pacific to strike first in the bottom of the second as Riley Frey loaded the bases with one down before an RBI groundout. Frey was able to limit the damage with an eight-pitch strikeout to end the inning.
 
The Panthers tied the score in the top of the third as Thelen doubled to start off the frame, before Seidel brought him around on a two-out single to even the game at one. Frey allowed two more runs as the first four batters reached in the third but was able to register a strikeout and a double play to keep the deficit to two at 3-1.
 
The Tigers added four more runs in the bottom of the fourth, including a pair of two-out run-scoring singles to take a 7-1 lead.
 
Thelen homered on a 1-1 pitch to lead off the top of the fifth, before coming back up in the top of the sixth and connecting on a two-run single to chase home Hausser and Connelly, who had reached earlier in the inning.
 
Mike Sullivan pitched a scoreless fifth, while James Severson got the first out in the sixth before Sam Mathews came on to retire the side.
 
Milwaukee got back within two in the top of the seventh as Seidel had a one-out double and moved up to third on a wild pitch. Cline drove him in with a base knock on a 3-2 count to get the Panthers back within a pair.
 
The Panthers continued to threaten in the top of the eighth as Connelly worked a nine-pitch walk before Jake Novak singled with one down. With the tying runs on, MKE was unable to pick up the run-scoring knock as the team stranded two more.
 
Mathews threw a scoreless frame in the seventh while leaving a pair on base before Nick Gilhaus took over in the bottom of the eighth and yielded two runs as the Tigers regained a four-run lead.  
 
Milwaukee scratched across one more run in the top of the ninth as Connelly had a run-scoring single to bring home Nate DeYoung, who got the two-out rally started with a single. The Panthers stranded two more runners in the ninth, leaving 11 on base for the game.
 
Milwaukee will look to bounce back on Saturday when the team plays a pair against Pacific. The games are currently scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (CST), however if Pacific's home field is unable to play, the games may be moved in terms of location and time. Make sure to follow @MKE_Baseball on Twitter for the most recent updates.