CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Milwaukee baseball split its non-conference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, winning the opener against Southeast Missouri by a 3-1 score and falling in the second game by a 6-5 margin against the Redhawks.
 
Milwaukee's pitching was strong once again as Riley Frey threw seven innings in the opener and allowed just one run while earning his second win of the season. Luke Hansel didn't factor into the decision after leaving with the lead as he threw five innings and allowed one run while striking out seven. The bullpen combined for five innings over the two games, which included a four-out save by Nate DeYoung in the opener.
 
The Panthers had their share of well-timed hits once again as Aaron Chapman led the way with five hits on the day with one RBI. Justin Hausser also had three hits and drove in one, while Mark Connelly had two hits in the opener including his first home run of the season with a pair of RBIs in game one.
 
Marcus Cline and Luke Seidel each had two hits, including a double apiece while Ty Olejnik had two singles and scored a run.
 
Game 1 Summary
The Panthers got the game started by spotting Frey a one-run lead as Cline recoded a one-out double while Connelly followed with a single to chase home the opening run.
 
Frey retired the first seven batters he faced, as he faced just one two over the minimum through the first 13 outs. However, one of the two over the minimum was a solo home run with two outs in the fourth to tie the game at one.
 
"Frey threw it really well", said head coach Scott Doffek. "We had opportunities to really bust the game open and just couldn't do it. Pitching and defense win, and we did a great job of that in this game."
 
Milwaukee broke the deadlock with Connelly's first home run of the season and second RBI of the game to put the Panthers back on top.
 
Frey worked through singles in both the sixth and seventh innings but stranded the pair of baserunners and left in line for the win after striking out five.
 
The Panthers added an insurance run in the top of the eighth as Chapman reached on a one-out single followed by a double off the bat of Hausser. Benson grounded out to plate the third Milwaukee run for the 3-1 lead.
 
Sam Mathews got the first out, followed by Johnny Kelliher getting out number two before DeYoung came on for the final out of the eighth inning and the three outs of the ninth as all four of his recorded outs came via the strikeout.
 
Game 2 Summary
In game two, the Panthers had a 4-1 lead halfway through the contest but were unable to build upon its lead. The Redhawks chipped away late and eventually wrestled the lead away late in the game with three in the bottom of the eighth.
 
"Game two was very similar to game one offensively for us", Doffek added. "We really just could not get that big hit to open up the scoring. Luke [Hansel] threw it well and for the most part our bullpen did a nice job."
 
"We lost focus on a couple of simple things in the eighth and it beat us," said Doffek. "We didn't focus through the 27 outs on defense and that ended up being the difference."
 
Milwaukee got started early again with a two-spot in the first inning as Seidel singled to left and stole second. Cline reached on an error as Seidel scored. Chapman doubled later in the inning and was brought around on a base knock by Hausser.
 
Hansel went to work in the bottom of the first and ran into some early trouble before stranding a pair on base. He settled down with a hitless inning in the second before Milwaukee added a third run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the third.
 
The Redhawks got on the board with their first run in the bottom of the fourth to trim Milwaukee's lead to 3-1. The Panthers responded quickly with a manufactured run in the top of the fifth as Olejnik walked and went first to third on a Cline single. Connelly walked to load the bases before Chapman plated one with an RBI groundout.
 
Hansel made it through the bottom of the fifth but labored after a leadoff single, and a two-out walk before being lifted after the inning in line for the win.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, the Redhawks scored a pair, but the Panther bullpen was able to hang onto the lead by leaving the bases full.
 
The slim lead held until the eighth, when Milwaukee got some breathing room as DeYoung reached on a leadoff walk and moved up to second on a wild pitch. A groundout moved DeYoung to third, before he scored on a sacrifice fly to give the Panthers a two-run cushion at 5-3.
 
The lead did not last long as Southeast Missouri scored three times in the bottom of the eight to take their first lead of the day. Milwaukee went down in order in the top of the ninth and settled for the split with the Redhawks.
 
Up Next
Milwaukee and Southeast Missouri play the rubber match of the three-game set on Sunday with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. from Capaha Field in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.