ROCHESTER, Mich. – With a five-hit afternoon, Justin Hausser became the 10th Panther to record 200 hits for his career in the opening game of Milwaukee's weekend series at Oakland. The Golden Grizzlies won the game in 11 innings by a 6-5 score.
 
Tyler Bickers added three hits of his own and drove in three runs, including a game-tying two-run home run in the top of the seventh after Milwaukee trailed 4-2 through five innings.
 
Milwaukee had chances to strike throughout the game, but rallies were short-circuited including a runner thrown out a third in the fifth inning. The Panthers also had opportunities in the eighth and 10th innings that were thwarted by Oakland.
 
"Ultimately, I'm going to wear this loss squarely on my shoulders," noted head coach Shaun Wegner after the game. "I have to be better at getting an early angle to make a better decision in that moment."
 
With the score tied after 10 innings, Oakland led off the bottom of the 11th with a double and went on to score the game-winning run, as the Panthers were unable to retire a batter in the inning.
 
Milwaukee got five innings from starting pitcher Gavin Theis, who struck out two batters and allowed five runs in his final outing of the regular season.
 
"In the innings that Oakland capitalized, Gavin got bit by the walks and an inopportune blunder defensively," added Wegner. "I give a ton of credit to Logan Snow and Mason Weckler, coming in and competing hard to keep that game within reach until the 11th."
 
Weckler had a strong performance, recording four strikeouts over three scoreless innings Snow suffered the loss after allowing the game-winning run over two innings of work.
 
The top three hitters in Milwaukee's lineup combined for 10 of the team's 12 hits. Gabe Roessler added two hits alongside Hausser's and Bickers' three. Bradyn Horn came off the bench and added two hits, including an RBI.
 
"The top of the lineup was able to consistently provide traffic, but we were unable to get anything going down the lineup," Wegner noted. "Give a shout-out to Horn for being ready when his name was called and coming up big for us."
 
Milwaukee and Oakland will play the middle game of the weekend set on Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. (CT) at the Oakland Baseball Field.