EAU CLAIRE, Wis. -- The last time the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's baseball teams faced off back on April 16th, it was the Pioneers' pitching that carried the team to a doubleheader sweep. When the teams squared off again on Tuesday afternoon in Eau Claire, it was Platteville's offense doing the majority of the damage as the Pioneers came away with 15-7 and 15-10 (10 innings) victories. With the wins, Platteville moves to 12-13 overall on the season and 10-8 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play while earning a 4-0 sweep of the Blugolds this spring. UWEC falls to 7-23 overall and 2-18 in the WIAC.
UW-Platteville will return to action this weekend with a doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday at nationally ranked #15 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Game 1: PIONEERS 13, UW-Eau Claire 7
The opener got off to a rough start for Platteville as the Blugolds put up 5 runs in the second inning. The inning began innocently enough with starter Brady Hoppert giving up a leadoff single to Diego Caicedo but then promptly picking him off first base. After Joe Clinton struck out swinging, Hoppert had two down with nobody on. A pair of singles wrapped around an error loaded the bases however with the top of the Blugold order coming up. Centerfielder Nate Witte took advantage by lacing a single to centerfield to open the scoring. A throwing error by Jonny Kelso (Sr/Villa Park, Ill.) helped to clear the bases on the play and give UWEC a 3-0 lead. The next batter, Ryan Venne, stepped to the plate and hit a booming 2-run home run to put the home team up five.
The Pioneer bats responded immediately. After a one-out single from Ross Krist (Sr./Sheboygan Falls, Wis.) to begin the third, Kelso atoned for the rare defensive miscue by drlling a 2-run home run to get Platteville on the board. As it turned out, the bats were just getting started as Wyatt Molitor followed with an infield single. A strikeout and hit-by-pitch later, the Pioneers had two on with two out for Ben Espinoza (Sr./Villa Park, Ill.). The senior leftfielder delivered with an RBI double scoring Molitor. Shortstop Zack McCoy (Sr./Modesto, Cal.) followed with a 2-RBI single and just like that the Pioneers found themselves back to even at 5-5.
After the early scoring barrage from both teams, Pioneer pitching settled into a groove and held UWEC scoreless over the next five innings. The offense on the other hand, showed that they were just warming up. On the strength of a pair of RBI from Mitchell McLaughlin (Jr./Amboy, Ill.) and the team-leading fifth home run of the season off the bat of Krist, Platteville scored in four straight innings on their way to building a 13-5 advantage heading into the bottom of the 8th.
The Blugolds would register single tallies in the 8th and 9th innings to bring the game to within 13-7 but could get no closer.
Despite allowing five runs (two earned) to the Blugolds in the second, Hoppert pitched well allowing no runs in the other four innings he worked, scattering five hits and striking out five to earn the win. The freshman righthander improved to 2-0 in his rookie campaign. Blugold starter Matt Moore worked 5.2 innings, giving up 13 hits and 8 runs. He fell to 1-4 this spring.
Krist and Kelso, the Pioneer 1-2 punch at the top of the order, combined to go 5-9 at the plate scoring four runs and driving in five. McCoy also had a good day at the plate reaching base three times on a couple of hits and a walk while driving in three. Every Platteville starter registered at least one hit.
Game 2: PIONEERS 15, UW-Eau Claire 10 (10 innings)
The nightcap began in a very similar fashion to game one through the mid-innings until things got crazy late, with the Blugolds forcing extras in the ninth and a Pioneer five-run 10th finally putting the game away.
Things did not look good for a Pioneer sweep in the 1st. The top half of the frame saw the potent Platteville offense load the bases with no one out against starter Will Girardi, only to see him wriggle off the hook and allow just one run. Eau Claire made that missed opportunity hurt even more by putting up four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning off the back of two Pioneer errors and two hit-by-pitches from starter Parker Heidorf (So./Sherwood, Wis.).
But just as in Game 1, the Pioneer offense was quick to respond. Three, two-out runs in the top of the 2nd inning knotted the game back at 4-4. Krist provided the big blow with an RBI double. In the 6th inning it was Krist once again coming through with a 2-RBI single up the middle that chased the starter Girardi.
Just as Hoppert had in the opener, Heidorf settled in after the rough beginning. After the first, the 6'8 righty surrendered just an Otto Treichel solo home run over his next five innings of work. Staked to a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the sixth, Heidorf got out of a 2nd and 3rd with one out jam by striking out Nate Witte and Pioneer-killer Venne on a 3-2 pitch.
After a scoreless 7th inning for both teams, the Platteville offense provided some breathing room by scoring four runs to give them a 10-5 advantage. Once again it was Krist leading the way with a bases clearing, 2-RBI double. Eau Claire worked three straight singles off reliever Sam Hernandez to scratch out a run in the bottom of the 8th, but the Pioneers still headed into the 9th with a comfortable 10-6 lead.
The score remained 10-6 as UWEC came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth. Hernandez quickly induced a pair of ground outs leaving the Blugolds down to its final out. A third potential groundout off the bat of Drew Salyers could have ended the game but an error allowed him to reach and kept Eau Claire alive. A walk and a single followed, loading the bases for Venne. Venne, who had hit three of his four home runs this season off Pioneer pitching, came through once again delivering a 2-out grand slam, tying the game at 10 apiece. Hernandez got the next batter to fly out and the game went to extra innings.
If the Pioneers were disheartened by Eau Claire's improbable late rally, they did not dwell on it. As it had all afternoon, the offense went to work right away in the 10th. Krist led off with a walk. One out later, Molitor singled up the middle giving the Pioneers two on with only one out. Jake Wegner (So./Reedsburg, Wis.) followed with a grounder to Salyers' at shortstop but an errant throw to first allowed Krist to score and the Pioneers were up, 11-10. Eau Claire pitching then walked the next four Pioneer batters, scoring three runs. After a pitching change, Slate Higa (Fr./Honolulu, Hawaii) pushed one more run across with an RBI single to right.
Now up 15-10, Jake Schneider took the ball in the bottom of the 10th and slammed the door working a 1-2-3 frame with two strikeouts to end the wild contest and give Platteville the sweep.
Heidorf scattered 5 hits, allowing 2 earned runs and striking out 3 in six innings of work. Hernandez, pitching better than his final line would indicate in three innings of relief, was awarded the win moving him to 3-1 on the season.
Krist led the way on offense with a career day. Platteville's lead-off hitter reached base five times in Game 2, going 3-5 and drawing two walks. He drove in a career-high four runs while improving this season's batting averge to .406. Higa also collected three hits from the 9-spot in the order, improving his batting average to .333.
