FRANKLIN, Wis. – The Milwaukee Panther baseball team erased an early deficit and scored three runs over the last four innings to split the season series with the Northwestern Wildcats. The Panthers knocked off Northwestern by a 3-2 score at Franklin Field.
 
Milwaukee (22-24) outhit the Wildcats by an 8-5 margin as the Panthers allowed just one earned run as a staff while striking out nine Northwestern batters.
 
Tommy Benson and Aaron Chapman had two hits apiece to lead the offense, while the duo each scored a run. Ty Olejnik connected on what proved to be the winning run with an inside-the-park home run off the base of the right field wall in the bottom of the eighth inning.
 
Luke Seidel drove in Milwaukee's first run of the game with a single, while Nate DeYoung also had an RBI single to put the Panthers ahead.
 
Adrian Montilva got his second start of the season and allowed one unearned run in the first inning but made it through three innings and struck out a team-best four Wildcats. Keagon Kaufmann pitched the next three innings without surrendering a run while scattering two hits.
 
Johnny Kelliher pitched a perfect seventh with one strikeout, while Sam Mathews pitched the eighth and allowed one baserunner. DeYoung slammed the door in the ninth for his ninth save of the season.
 
Montilva struck out the first two batters he faced in the first but walked the next batter before a pair of wild pitches moved the baserunner to third. Milwaukee's left-handed starter struck out the next batter to end the inning.
 
Montilva continued to throw well in the second and recorded his fourth strikeout in the process. The Wildcats scored one in the third as the first two batters reached before a wild pitch scored the opening run of the game.
 
Three batters reached in the bottom of the third for Milwaukee as Benson led off the frame with a two-bagger before Nathan Ebersole and Olejnik walked. The bases were stranded full as Northwestern got out of the inning with a strikeout.
 
Kaufmann started the fourth inning and retired the first two batters he faced and worked around a two-out single before getting out of the frame.
 
Milwaukee came up in the bottom of the fifth after Kaufmann set down the Wildcats in order in the top of the inning and Benson led off the frame with a single. Benson then stole second, and three batters later Seidel singled to tie the game but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double.
 
The Panthers added another run in the sixth on a Chapman double before DeYoung hit a screaming line drive off the pitcher allowing Chapman to score to put Milwaukee ahead by a 2-1 margin.
 
Kelliher came on in the seventh and set down the side in order including a pair of strikeouts.
 
Mathews entered in the eighth and struck out the final batter of the inning after allowing a two-out double.
 
With one out in the bottom of the eighth, Olejnik was up and sent an 0-1 pitch off the right field fence that caromed away from the rightfielder and allowed Olejnik to score on the play for an inside-the-park home run to give the Panthers an insurance run at 3-1.
 
After playing first base for the first eight inning, DeYoung made his way to the mound and allowed a home run after a nine-pitch marathon at bat. The next batter reached on an error before a pop up was caught for the first out.
 
DeYoung tried to pick off the baserunner at first base and the throw went awry as the runner made it all the way to third base. However, it was ruled that the baserunner had missed second base and became the second out of the inning. DeYoung got the final out via strikeout on the very next pitch to secure the save, while nailing down the Panthers' one-run victory.
 
Milwaukee heads on the road for its final road trip of the regular season as the Panthers will visit Wright State beginning on Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. (CT) for the opening game of a three-game conference series.