PLATTEVILLE, Wis. —The University of Wisconsin-Platteville baseball team is currently competing in the George Cusic Classic in Ft. Myers, Florida, where they've played three games so far over the course of the weekend, defeating Lasell College (Massachusetts) 13-5 on Friday, falling to Augustana College (Illinois) 7-5 on Saturday and closing the weekend with a win over St. Lawrence University (New York) 6-5 on Sunday.
Pioneers 13, Lasell 5
After starting the season 3-1, the Pioneers' batting hit a hot streak that pulled them to victory over Lasell on Friday, reaching 14 hits to Lasell's eight.
After a scoreless first and second inning, it was junior
Colin DeBoer who started the swinging club in the third inning, hitting a triple to right center field to bring in senior catcher
Todd Wienkes for the RBI. With a senior
Evan Greco single shortly after, DeBoer crossed the plate to put the Pioneers up 2-0, but they weren't quite finished yet. Two more singles came from senior
George Jester III and junior
Max Meitzler in the third, bringing in two more men for a 4-0 lead in favor of the Pioneers.
Adding two and one more run in the fourth and fifth innings, the Pioneers held Lasell to zero runs up until the top of the seventh, where they logged one run. The Pioneers quickly responded in the bottom of the inning, adding two more runs to the table to put the score at 9-1.
Lasell tallying three more runs in the top of the eighth, the Pioneers continued to push on, adding four more of their own to give them the 13-4 lead heading into the final inning, where Lasell's last chance effort only added one run to the score, the Pioneers taking the 13-5 victory.
Pioneers 5, Augustana 7
After a scoreless first inning, Augustana recorded the first run of the game in the second, taking the 1-0 lead heading into a scoreless third inning.
The Pioneers tied the game off a Meitzler double to left center field in the fourth, bringing in Jester to cross the plate.
Augustana responded with a big bottom of the fourth, logging four runs to take the 5-1 lead heading into the top of the fifth.
On a DeBoer single to right field, two Pioneers in Wienkes and senior
Casey Schroeder scored to bring the Pioneers within two at 5-3 in the fifth inning before Augustana added another run to their score, making the total 6-3.
After a scoreless sixth inning, both teams logged one run apiece in the seventh, putting the score at 7-4 with the Pioneers up to bat in the top of the eighth.
With Jester on base, senior
Zack Iverson reached first on an error by the Augustana shortstop to bring Jester in to score in the eighth, keeping a win within reach with the score now at 7-5.
Holding Augustana to a scoreless bottom of the eighth, the Pioneers had a last-chance effort in the ninth with a Schroeder single to right field. Deboer stepped up to the plate next, but ended up grounding out with Schroeder in an Augustana double play.
Pioneers 6, St. Lawrence 5
With no runs scored in the first, St. Lawrence grabbed the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second, but the Pioneers responded in the third after Schroeder was batted in by a DeBoer double to right center field to close the gap to 2-1.
After a scoreless fourth, St. Lawrence tallied another run in the bottom of the fifth, but it was the Pioneers' big top of the sixth inning that propelled them past St. Lawrence, scoring five runs to put them ahead 6-3. With the bases loaded, Schroder walked to bring in Jester for the first run of the sixth, quickly followed by a DeBoer single to advance all the runners to the next base, junior
Jonny Frese crossing the plate as the second run of the inning. With the bases still loaded, Greco stepped up to the plate, hitting a double down the left field line to bring in the final three runs of the inning.
St. Lawrence added two more runs to their total in the bottom of the sixth, but that would be the final runs scored throughout the rest of the game, the Pioneers taking the 6-5 victory.
The Pioneers continue action in Ft. Myers, Florida on Tuesday, March 22 against Purchase College (New York) at 8 a.m.
Written by: Carly Willman, University Information and Communications, 608.342.1194, willmanc@uwplatt.edu
