Milwaukee Athletics

DAYTON, Ohio – Milwaukee baseball advanced to the Horizon League Baseball Championship round following a 4-1 win over the top-seeded Wright State on a rainy Friday morning.
 
The Panthers got a strong six-inning performance from Riley Peterson, who struck out five and allowed the lone Raider run. Mason Weckler pitched a scoreless seventh, and Camden Kuhnke recorded his sixth save of the season with two shutout innings.
 
"There were some pretty tough conditions today between the wind coming in and the rain," said head coach Shaun Wegner.  "It came down to who was able to execute just enough. We made huge pitches and had some big defensive plays when we had to."
 
Milwaukee scored twice in the opening inning as Dylan O'Connell plated Charlie Marion, and Dominic Kibler later drove in O'Connell. The Panthers extended their lead late with a two-run ninth-inning home run off the bat of Marion.
 
"It wasn't our best offensive game by any means," said Wegner. "Early on, Dylan got that bunt down and forced chaos to get us a run and a guy on third, and Kibler taps him in to give us the lead. Then Charlie connects on one of the hardest balls I've ever seen him hit to give us more life."
 
Marion got Milwaukee's offense going in the first inning with a one-out single, O'Connell reached as the ball was thrown down the right field line, allowing Marion to score while O'Connell took third on the play. Kibler grounded out and collected an RBI to increase the lead to 2-0.
 
Peterson pitched two scoreless frames to begin his outing and got the first out of the third inning before the next three batters reached to load the bases. Keegan Holmstrom lifted a ball to left, allowing the lone Wright State run to score.
 
As the weather conditions turned from a drizzle to rain, both offenses began to stall out. Peterson faced the toughest conditions in the bottom of the fifth as the weather worsened, walking three straight batters with two down, but he was able to strike out Cy Turner on seven pitches to strand the bases loaded.
 
"It was coming down pretty good in that inning," Wegner said. "You can see that Riley was losing his grip on the pitches, but he was able to execute and get out of it with a big strikeout."
 
Mason Weckler took over for Peterson in the seventh and allowed two runners on before a sharp line drive to John Hadley VI was snagged for the third out.
 
The Panthers put pressure on again in the eighth as Kibler reached on a two-out double, and Bradyn Horn and Hadley VI walked to load the bases. Wright State starter Griffen Paige was lifted for Chet Lax, who struck out the next batter to strand the bases loaded.
 
Kuhnke loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth and was able to get out of the inning as Grant Ross threw across the diamond on a groundout. The original call on the field was safe; however, after video review, the call was overturned and ended the inning.
 
The first two Panthers were retired by Lax in the ninth before Ross jumped on the first pitch and singled up the middle. Marion followed by swinging at the first pitch he saw, sending a ball over the scoreboard in right field to extend the Panther lead to 4-1.
 
Kuhnke got the first out on a fly ball and struck out the final two batters to send the Panthers to the championship round.
 
"When Camden got to the ninth you could see him relax a little bit more with some composure and he just was able to shut it down," added Wegner.
 
Milwaukee will await an opponent in the championship round later this weekend. Due to weather in the Dayton, Ohio area, the elimination game between Wright State and Oakland has yet to be scheduled but will not take place before 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. A determination to the start time will be announced later.