STOCKTON, Calif. – The Milwaukee baseball team bounced back after dropping the series opener to Pacific on Friday with a two-game sweep of the Tigers on Saturday afternoon, taking the opener by a 4-3 score and following that up with a 4-2 victory in game two.
 
"I'm extremely proud of the guys for bouncing back and finding a way to win this series," said head coach Scott Doffek. "Certainly, much to work on but it's always a better feeling when you can do it while you win."
 
In the opener, the Panthers jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the opening two innings. Pacific scored twice in the third and added another run in the fifth, but the MKE staff was able to keep the Tigers at three runs in a 4-3 seven-inning win.
 
"We got another quality start from Luke [Hansel]," Doffek remarked on game one. "We had an opportunity early in the game to but it open, thankfully we did just enough with the bats."
 
Milwaukee flipped the script in game two as the Panther fell behind two runs after two innings but answered back with a pair in the top of the third, before breaking the tie in the top of the fifth with another two-run frame before holding on for the 4-2 victory.
 
"Game two was a team effort for sure," said Doffek on the game. "We had a quality start by Eliot [Turnquist] and a fantastic job by the bullpen. Pacific has a scrappy offense and they made us work."
 
Game 1 Summary
Luke Seidel opened the day with a single and promptly stole second, Marcus Cline had a seeing-eye single up the middle to put runners on the corners. Mark Connelly swung at the first pitch he saw and had a base hit into left to plate Seidel and give MKE a 1-0 lead.
 
Jack Thelen had an infield single to open the second followed by Seidel connecting on his second hit in as many innings. Cline was then hit by a pitch to load the bases with one down. Connelly reached on an error to allow Thelen to score, followed by a sacrifice fly off the bat of Nate DeYoung to plate the second run of the inning. Justin Hausser got in on the action and collected an RBI with a base hit of his own to put the Panthers up four.
 
Spotted a 4-0 lead heading into the second inning, Luke Hansel went to work as he faced just three batters in the bottom of the second. The Tigers were able to scratch across two runs after the first two batters walked in the bottom of the third to trim the Panther lead in half.
 
Hansel stranded one in scoring position in the bottom of the fourth but yielded another run in the bottom of the fifth as Pacific pulled back within one.
 
Milwaukee got the first two batters on in the top of the sixth but were unable to plate either runner. Cline was also first pitch swinging to lead off the top of the seventh with a double, but again the Panthers were unable to string hits together.
 
Hansel was lifted for Sam Mathews in the bottom of the seventh after walking the leadoff batter, but the defense caught the inherited runner on a pickoff, while Mathews did the work to retire the final two batters to seal the win for Milwaukee.
 
Hansel improved to 2-0 after striking out four batters over six innings of work and allowing three runs while scattering six hits and three walks. Mathews got his first save in a Panther uniform as he pitched a scoreless seventh, needing only six pitches to retire the side.
 
Game 2 Summary
Eliot Turnquist got the start in game two and got the first two Tigers he faced in the bottom of the first, but the next three batters reached before he stranded the bases full on a groundout.
 
Pacific scored twice in the bottom of the second to take a 2-0 lead on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single.
 
Milwaukee answered right back as Thomas Otto led off the inning with a four-pitch walk before moving up to second on a wild pitch. Seidel picked up an RBI on a ground ball base hit through the left side before he stole second. Connelly was up next and chased Seidel home with a base knock to center. Hausser followed with a double to put two in scoring position, but the pair were left on base.
 
After the first batter walked, Turnquist got the next three batters out in order to send the game to the fourth inning.
 
Ty Olejnik opened the top of the fifth with a triple down the line on a 1-1 pitch before Seidel brought him home with a single before swiping second. Connelly singled two batters later to chase Seidel home, before moving up to second on the throw home, and to third on a groundout, but was left there.
 
Johnny Kelliher came on in the fifth to replace Turnquist and allowed a leadoff single but nothing further. After the first two Tigers reached in the bottom of the sixth, Ryan Hoerter entered the game and got three straight swings for the second out, before a fly ball to right retired the side.
 
Milwaukee went down in order in the top of the seventh, as DeYoung came on for the save in the bottom of the inning. After DeYoung got ahead, the Tiger leadoff batter reached on a single. DeYoung got the next batter out via strikeout before a fly ball, and a three-pitch strikeout sealed the game two win for the Panthers.
 
Turnquist got the win as he went four of the seven innings on the game and struck out two while allowing two unearned runs. Kelliher tossed 1 1/3 innings, while Hoerter struck out one of the two batters he faced. DeYoung picked up his second save of the young season as he faced four batters and struck out a pair.

Up Next
The Panthers head indoors to U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to take on the Gophers for a midweek matchup with first pitch slated for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1.