Milwaukee Athletics

AUBURN, Ala. – For the first time in program history, the Milwaukee baseball team will be playing for an NCAA Regional Championship after defeating the UCF Knights by a 13-6 score on Saturday evening at Plainsman Park.
 
The win places Milwaukee in the championship round of the regional, becoming the first team in Horizon League history reach the regional championship game through the winner's bracket. The Panthers will also look to become the first team to represent the league in the Super Regional Round.
 
Milwaukee continues to be one of the hottest teams in the nation, winning its ninth consecutive game. The last time the Panthers won at least nine games in a row came during the 2002 campaign, winning a still program-record 13-straight from Apr. 27 through May 10 of that season.
 
The Panther offense burst out to a nine-run lead in the first three innings before holding off a middle-inning surge by the Knights. Milwaukee added three insurance runs in the eighth inning to pull away and secure one of the most significant wins in program history.
 
The Milwaukee offense had nine hits and was just as patient at the plate, drawing nine walks. Grant Ross, Charlie Marion, and Dylan O'Connell were all instrumental atop the lineup, combining to go 6-for-7 with seven walks, nine runs scored, and eight RBIs while helping Milwaukee build its early lead.
 
Bradyn Horn had an early sacrifice fly and played a key role late as he drove in the final two Panther runs to extend the Milwaukee lead to seven. Joey Spence scored two runs in the effort, going 1-for-4 with a double and a walk.
 
"This was another tremendous job by our offense to really get going early," said head coach Shaun Wegner. "Putting nine on the board early gave us a pretty good momentum swing."
 
On the hill, Aric Ehmke was solid with four strikeouts over five innings as he won his sixth decision over his last seven starts. Mason Weckler was key for the Panthers, eating up 2 2/3 innings of relief and allowing one run with a strikeout. Aiden Fishnick did not allow a hit over the final inning.
 
"Ehmke threw the ball well for quite a bit before we turned it over to Weckler," added Wegner. "Weckler was really the calming influence that we needed after UCF scored five runs in the sixth, coming back and put up a couple of zeros. That's exactly what we needed to get the momentum back in our dugout."
 
 
Milwaukee jumped out to a 9-0 lead, including two runs in the first inning. Ross walked and Marion singled to lead off the inning before O'Connell doubled to score the game's opening run. Later in the inning Bradyn Horn hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
 
After retiring the first three batters in the first inning, Ehmke struck out the first two in the second and got a foul out to end the frame.
 
The Panthers did damage with two outs in the bottom of the second with Spence standing on second base. Ross doubled down the left field line to bring Spence around. Marion walked on seven pitches before O'Connell doubled into the gap in left center to score two more and increase the lead to five.
 
John Hadley VI reached with a one-out double in the third before Connor Bozak was hit by a pitch. Spence walked to fill the bases before Ross, Marion, and O'Connell all drew bases-loaded walks to force in three runs. A wild pitch brought home the ninth Panther run.
 
Ehmke worked around a leadoff double in the fourth but was unable to avoid damage in the fifth. The Knights drew consecutive walks to open the fifth but lined into a sharp double play that was snagged by Spence and erased the lead runner. After another walk, UCF got a single to get on the board.
 
With two down in the bottom of the inning, Ross was up and sent the second pitch of his at bat deep to centerfield, where it bounded off the head of the centerfielder and over the fence for his sixth home run of the season.
 
A home run to lead off the top of the sixth ignited the UCF offense, which scored five runs in the frame against three Panther pitchers before Mason Weckler got out of the inning on a comebacker.
 
Weckler worked around a two-out single before Milwaukee went down in order in the bottom of the inning. He continued into the eighth and worked around a leadoff error before a strikeout, groundout, and flyout ended the inning.
 
The Panthers added three major insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth with the first three batters reaching. After a popout, a wild pitch scored Ross, who led off the inning with a walk. Horn fell behind in the count 0-2 before drawing even at 2-2. He took the fifth pitch of the at bat over the drawn-in infield to score two more runs, giving Milwaukee a 13-6 lead.
 
In the ninth, Aiden Fishnick entered and worked around a one-out walk before a strikeout gave him two outs. On the final out, Fishnick got the batter lunging at a breaking pitch and popping up to Bozak to clinch a spot in the Auburn Regional Championship.
 
Milwaukee became the 12th regional No. 4 seed to start 2-0 since they began seeding the bracket in 1999. They also become the first No. 4 seed to score at least 13 runs in each of its first two NCAA Tournament contests.
 
Individually, Ross finished the game 2-for-3 with five runs scored, driving in three, while Marion was 2-for-2 with a pair of walks and two runs scored. O'Connell had a team-high four RBIs, going 2-for-3 at the plate with two walks. Horn had one hit and drove in three.
 
Leading the way for UCF was DeAmez Ross in the leadoff position with a hit and two RBIs. Austin Jacobs had two of the Knights' eight hits on the game.
 
UCF sent six pitchers to the mound with starter Mateo Gray suffering the loss as he allowed three runs over the first 1 1/3 innings. Evan Jones was impressive in relief, striking out five over a season-high 4 1/3 innings, while still allowing two runs. Only Zachary Malvasio did not allow a run for UCF, recording the final two outs in the bottom of the eighth.
 
The next game at Plainsman Park will be an elimination contest between the top two seeds in the region. Host Auburn will take on the No. 2 seed in an elimination game with first pitch set for 2:00 p.m. with the loser being eliminated.
 
Milwaukee will face the winner of the 2:00 p.m. contest, and will battle for the Regional Championship at 7:00 p.m.