BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Shaun Wegner earned his first career win as head coach of the Milwaukee Panthers as the team won a 12-inning marathon in game two of a doubleheader against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers by a 6-5 score. Milwaukee dropped the opener to host WKU by an 8-3 margin.
 
Justin Hausser had the go-ahead RBI double in the top of the 12th inning for Milwaukee to chase home Q Phillips, who was hit by a pitch just ahead of Hausser's at bat. Hausser was one of two Panthers with multi-hit games in the nightcap, as the Panthers outhit the Hilltoppers by a 9-8 difference.
 
"I challenged our team between games to find their 'why' and come together even tighter so we could overcome and rise above the storm we were facing," said Wegner post game. "They responded with resilience and resolve to finally get that monkey off our backs."
 
The Panthers took multiple leads during the game, but Western Kentucky seemed to have an answer on every occurrence. With the score even at four through eight innings, the Panthers took their third different lead at 5-4, but Western Kentucky responded with a single run in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extras.
 
"We have fought hard all year to be in games late and ultimately have not been able to finish," Wegner added. "Today it struck again when [Joey] Baran hits the big two-out RBI to tie the game ... we could have folded."
 
After allowing the game-tying run in the ninth, Owen Rice bounced back with two shutout innings allowing Milwaukee to come back up in the top of the 12th as Phillips reached with one down before Hausser drove him in. Tyler Deleskiewicz came on to lock down his first career save, while Rice picked up his first win as a Panther.
 
"Our guys fought, and our dugout kept the energy high," noted Wegner of the Panther mentality. "We found a way to finally finish the game with a handshake line. I'm really proud of this roster and the way they have stuck together. Now we have to come back tomorrow with a chance to even the series."
 
Tristan Arnold got the start and made it through 3 1/3 innings, leaving with the game tied at two. Logan Snow allowed two runs (one earned) over his four innings of relief, before Johnny Kelliher retired the final two batters in the eighth to strand the bases full.
 
Seven of Milwaukee's nine starters recorded at least one hit on the game, including Hausser and Zach Lane, who had two hits apiece. Hausser and Carson Hansen each had doubles, while Teige Lethert had a leadoff triple in the eighth and scored the fourth Panther run to level the score at four after eight innings.
 
Hansen's one-out ninth-inning double was followed by a Sean Tillmon RBI single to put MKE up, 5-4 in the ninth before WKU scored the game-tying run to send the game to extras.

Eight Hilltoppers took to the mound over 12 innings in the second game, with Mason Burns suffering the loss allowing the game-winning run to score in his 1 2/3 innings of work. Burns and Cal Higgins were tied for the team lead with four strikeouts each.
 
Baran had the team's biggest RBI of the game in the bottom of the ninth, Ethan Lizama was a pain in Milwaukee's side throughout the game with a 2-for-3 effort with three walks and an RBI. Brady Browning led WKU with two RBIs in game two.
Milwaukee dropped the opener by an 8-3 score to begin the afternoon with a scheduled seven-inning contest. Despite Milwaukee outhitting the Hilltoppers, 8-7, it was WKU to earn the victory by scoring the last seven runs to erase an early 3-1 Panther lead.

"In game one, we ultimately made some defensive miscues that ended up putting us in a tough position and we were not able to overcome it," Wegner noted of game one. "We put ourselves in peril and let it spiral, unfortunately."

Browning got the scoring started for WKU as he jumped on a 1-1 pitch for a home run in the bottom of the second inning to give the home team an early lead off game one starter Adrian Montilva.
 
The Panthers tied the game on a passed ball in the next half inning before Tai Walton had the biggest hit of the game for the Black and Gold with a two-run single to put Milwaukee ahead 3-1.
 
The resilient Hilltoppers scored one in the fourth and had a three-run fifth inning to regain a lead at 5-3. WKU added three more insurance runs in the sixth, capped by a two-run home run by Dylan O'Connell, to take the game, 8-3.
 
Tillmon and Hausser each had two hits to lead Milwaukee's offense. James Severson took the loss for Milwaukee as he pitched his longest outing since 2021 by going 2 2/3 innings.
 

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Milwaukee and Western Kentucky will wrap up their four-game series on Sunday afternoon in Bowling Green. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. on Nick Denes Field.