A five-run third inning, a two-run home run by Casey Schroeder and a complete game by pitcher Nathan Fay lifted UW-Platteville to an 8-1 victory over UW-Stout Friday in the first game of a doubleheader at Kendall Murray Field. The Blue Devils took the nightcap 7-3.

The Pioneers used three walks and a hit-by-pitch to load the bases and bring in the run in the third, and then Tanner Galeazzi delivered the big blow, a two-run double down the right field line. A groundout and a wild pitch completed the five-run inning. 

Schroeder crushed his HR to left center, scoring Colin DeBoer, who had singled, to add some cushion to the Pioneer lead.

Those runs were more than enough for Fay, who yielded just four hits and one run (on a solo HR to Noah Brown). Fay struck out five and walked only one in nine innings. He was helped by a defense that made only one error and turned two double plays.

In the second game, the Blue Devils scored three in the seventh, increasing a 4-0 lead to 7-0. Brady Burzynski set Stout's all-time stolen base record when he swiped second in the seventh for his 45th career theft. The Pioneers rallied with three runs in the eighth, but could not overcome the large deficit.

The Pioneers (16-17 overall, 2-12 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) and the Blue Devils (12-18, 4-10) are scheduled to play another doubleheader Saturday at noon. In the event of rain, the teams will play Sunday at noon.