WHITEWATER, Wis. -- The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater baseball team earned a pair of hard fought home victories over the University of Wisconsin-Platteville on Saturday. In game one, the Warhawks held on for a one-run victory, 4-3. Platteville could not hold on to an early lead in game two and Whitewater used two runs in the 6th and 7th to pull in front and complete the sweep. The wins improved the #13 nationally ranked Warhawks to 17-2 for the season, 11-1 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Platteville fell to 8-12 overall, 4-8 in the WIAC. The Pioneers will get a couple of days off before returning to action on Tuesday April 20th when they host UW-Eau Claire for an afternoon doubleheader starting at 1p.
| GAME 1 |
R |
H |
E |
| UW-Platteville |
3 |
7 |
3 |
| UW-Whitewater |
4 |
11 |
1 |
WP - D. Brandl (3-1)
LP - S. Hernandez (2-3)
S - C. Moroder (1)
A 2-run home run by UWW's Taylor White helped fuel a three-run second inning and erased an early 1-0 Platteville lead. Donovan Brandl made that lead stand as he was solid through seven innings. Brandl scattered five Pioneer hits and gave up only two runs while striking out 10 and walking none.
Down 4-2 in the 8th, Pioneer CF Jonny Kelso (Jr./Villa Park, Ill.) ripped a leadoff triple off of reliever Ben Muscatello. One out later, Garrett Gillund (Jr./Wonder Lake, Ill.) singled to left, bringing in Kelso and cutting Platteville's deficit to one, 4-3. Gillund would bring the tying run to second base with two outs after a wild pitch but Muscatello would get a strikeout to end the threat. Warhawk reliever Conner Moroder worked a 1-2-3 ninth to preserve the win and notch the save.
Kelso and leadoff hitter Jake Wegner (Fr./Reesburg, Wis.) combined to hit 5-8 from the 1-2 spots in the order. Sam Hernandez (Fr./Malone, Wis.) allowed only 2 ER in five innings, but took the loss. Jake Schneider (Fr./Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) tossed three innings of scoreless relief.
| GAME 2 |
R |
H |
E |
| UW-Platteville |
2 |
4 |
2 |
| UW-Whitewater |
5 |
10 |
3 |
WP - C. Spear (2-0)
LP - S. Nolan (1-2)
The Pioneers again struck first in game two, this time in the third inning when SS Hunter Hopkins (Fr./Winnebago, Ill.) led off with a double and later came around to score after an error on Brandl, who moved to 1B for the nightcap. Starter Shane Nolan (Sr./Lake Zurich, Ill.) pitched well, holding the #13 ranked Warhawks scoreless in the first four innings. After allowing a single run in the fifth to tie the contest, Nolan looked to be back in control in the 6th, retiring the first two batters. However an error by Hopkins extended the inning and gave an at bat to game one Pioneer killer, White. The UWW designated hitter made the miscue hurt by belting his second 2-run HR on the day and giving the Warhawks its first lead, 3-1. Whitewater starter Connor Spear and a pair of relievers made the lead stand, combining to strikeout 11 and walk none.
Nolan took the hard luck loss despite tossing six innings and only letting one earned run cross the plate. Kelso's single to left in the sixth inning accounted for one of Platteville's four hits. Kelso has now hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games.
