MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Panthers swept a Horizon League doubleheader from the Northern Kentucky Norse on Saturday, taking the opener by a 10-4 score and finishing the day with a 17-5 game two victory.
 
"All facets were working today for us," commented head coach Shaun Wegner after the game. "Our pitchers did a good job limiting free passes, but also keeping that team to nine runs over two games is tough."
 
The Milwaukee pitching staff allowed just eight earned runs over the two games as Adrian Montilva tossed 6 2/3 innings and struck out five batters in the opener. Logan Snow pitched the final 2 1/3 innings without allowing a run.
 
Owen Rice got the start in game two and struck out a career-high six batters, as he made it through 2 1/3 innings. Gavin Theis finished off game two with 4 2/3 innings to record his first win of the season.
 
"Those guys really competed today … we did a better job with the strike zone and forced them to make contact," Wegner added on his pitching staff. "We worked into some deep counts, and we stayed strong and came out on top with the results."
 
Three Panthers had five hits on the day overall as Tyler Bickers (5-for-8), Justin Hausser (5-for-7), and Sean Tillmon (5-for-10) accounted for 15 of Milwaukee's 30 hits over the twinbill.
 
Bickers along with Carson Hansen, and Gabe Roessler all drove in four runs on the day, which included a three-run home run by Roessler in the opener and a grand slam off the bat of Hansen in game two.
 
"I think you found today that hitting is contagious," Wegner added on his offense. "Once we started seeing a couple of balls drop, the energy picked up and people started flowing a little bit easier."
 
Game 1 Recap
After a scoreless first inning, Montilva was touched for a home run in the top of the second but was able to limit the damage and stranded a pair on base.
 
Q Phillips doubled over the fence on a ground-rule double before Teige Lethert walked. Up next was Gabe Roessler, who connected on a ball over the leftfield fence for a three-run home run, his first as a Panther.
 
NKU added a run in the top of the third but the Panther offense added three more of their own in the fourth inning as Hausser had a sacrifice fly. Bickers drove in a run with a single, with Lethert adding an RBI as he was hit by a pitch to give MKE a 6-2 advantage.
 
Milwaukee put up another three-spot in the fifth on Tillmon's triple to plate Roessler, who singled to lead off the inning. Bickers had a sacrifice fly, while the Panthers added another run on an error for a seven-run lead.
 
Camden Kuhnke had a pinch-hit single to add the 10th Panther run in the sixth inning.
 
The Norse scored two in the top of the seventh to chase Montilva, who had retired 11 in a row entering the frame. Snow recorded a strikeout to end the inning and stranded a pair in scoring position.
 
Snow was able to hold the Norse off the board in the final two innings to seal the victory for Milwaukee. The right-hander allowed just a hit and two walks over his 2 1/3 innings, while striking out one.
 
Suffering the loss for Northern Kentucky was Tanner Gillis, who yielded six runs on 10 hits over 3 1/3 innings of work. Aaron Boster pitched a pair of hitless innings to close out the game for NKU. The Norse were led by Mitch Wood's first-inning home run, while Cleary Simpson had two hits and an RBI at the top of the team's batting order.
 
Game 2 Recap
The Panthers got off to a quick start in the second game as Rice struck out two batters in the first before striking out the side in the second inning.
 
Phillips, Lethert, and Roessler all walked to load the bases in the bottom of the second before Thomas Otto was hit by a pitch to score the first run of the contest. Tillmon plated a pair with a single to spot Milwaukee a three-run lead.
 
Bickers followed with a single to score the fourth Milwaukee run and kept the line moving as the bases remained full. Hansen was up next and put the capper on the bottom of the second inning with his second grand slam in as many days to put the Panthers ahead by an 8-0 score.
 
Northern Kentucky scored four in the third inning as Rice exited. Theis came on and was able to get the final two outs of the inning to bring Milwaukee back up to bat.
 
The first three batters reached in the bottom of the third as Otto singled followed by a single off the bat of Tillmon. Hausser was up next and connected on his first career triple to drive in two before scoring on a fly ball out by Bickers to help MKE regain a seven-run cushion.
 
The Panthers scored two more in the fourth as Roessler added another RBI on a sacrifice fly, before Otto singled home Lethert with the 13th Panther run.
 
"My hats off to [Thomas] Otto, the first game was a struggle for him, but he was able to put that aside and play really well behind the plate and deliver some RBIs for us in game two," Wegner noted of his veteran catcher.
 
Theis continued to keep the Norse in check, and the Panthers put up another four runs in the sixth inning, including a two-run opposite-field single by Zach Lane. Phillips picked up an RBI, while a passed ball allowed Lane to score Milwaukee's 17th run.
 
Northern Kentucky scored once more in the seventh inning, but it was too much to overcome as Theis finished the game with a comebacker to seal his first win of the season.
 
Ben Gerl took the loss for NKU as he was unable to get an out in the second inning after allowing the first six Milwaukee runs. Tyler Shaneyfel led the offense from the leadoff spot with a 2-for-4 game two with two RBIs, while Liam McFadden-Ackman also drove in a pair.
 
Up Next
The Panthers play a pair of non-conference games at home this week beginning with Parkside on Tuesday, with first pitch set for 5:05 p.m. at Franklin Field.