Trailing 6-1 entering the top of
the ninth, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville baseball team
scored eight times in the top of the ninth to rally for a 9-6 win
over St. Ambrose University on Wednesday afternoon at Modern
Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa.
The Pioneers (3-7) were limited to
seven hits and just one run through the first eight innings before
starting the come-from-behind rally. In the ninth, UW-Platteville
sent 11 batters to the plate and took advantage of three walks and
a pair of back-to-back, two RBI hits by Steve Wolke and Levi Ney.
To start the inning, UW-Platteville
loaded the bases on a Topher Scheeler
single and Zach
Demmon and Charlie Beckman
walked. Next, Jon
Lewerke delivered his third hit of the afternoon to plate the
first run. Then, after a strikeout, the Pioneers plated
back-to-back runs on a walk by Trevor Kattre and a
hit by pitch by Cody Luther. With the
tying run on first, the hottest hitter in the lineup, Levi Ney
doubled in a pair of runs, scoring Kattre and Lewerke to tie the
game at 6. With the tying run on third and one out, Sunday's
offensive star Steve Wolke drove in a pair of runs, scoring Ney and
Luther to put the Pioneers ahead 8-6 and for the first time of the
afternoon.
Then, veteran head coach Eric Frese
brought in Brady Williams to
run for Wolke. The freshman quickly stole second and advanced to
third on a throwing error. UW-Platteville added an insurance run
when Wednesday's hero, Scheeler doubled to the gap in left center
to stretch the lead to 9-6.
In his second inning of relief, Grant
Oldenburg closed out the contest for the Pioneers with his
second-straight scoreless inning of relief for the win to improve
to 1-0 on the season.
St. Ambrose (9-14) scored three
times in the second, added one more in fifth and two more in the
sixth en route to a 6-1 lead. In the process, the Bees took
advantage of six walks by Pioneer pitching. In the loss, St.
Ambrose stranded 14 runners on base including the bases loaded in
the third and seventh innings.
The Pioneers will next travel to
St. Louis, Missouri for three games in two days. In St. Louis,
UW-Platteville will face Washington University on Friday, Mar. 23
at noon and Saturday, Mar. 24 at 3 p.m. Between games,
UW-Platteville will take on Wheaton on Saturday at 9 a.m. in St.
Louis.