PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – After a five-run ninth inning rally capped by a walk off by sophomore Connor Gresens in game one, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville baseball team (17-15, 12-12 WIAC) concluded the doubleheader sweep of UW-Eau Claire (7-27, 1-23 WIAC) with another 5-4 win on Sunday afternoon at the third annual Marc Heidorf Memorial Game from Kendall Murray Field.

Game One

Scoring opportunities were limited through the first five innings until UW-Eau Claire put the first run on the board in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly. The Blugolds added to their lead in the seventh, getting four consecutive hits and scoring three runs to take a four-run advantage.

The Pioneers began to rally in the bottom of the ninth, as a leadoff single by senior Xavier Lara led to a one-out, two-run home run by freshman Trinity Beland. Following a Blugolds pitching change, sophomore Caleb Parker, freshman Anthony Massa, and junior Sam Meidenbauer each singled to load the bases. Sophomore Bradyn Delaney singled to make it 4-3, and a wild pitch brought home another run to tie the game. Sophomore Connor Gresens was the hero, ripping a single down the right field line to complete the five-run, ninth-inning comeback.

Sophomore Peerson Kephart got the win for UW-Platteville, throwing the final three innings and allowing no baserunners. Senior Brady Hoppert was the Pioneers starting pitcher, pitching into the seventh inning while allowing four runs on seven hits.

The Pioneers totaled 16 hits in the win, with Beland (4-for-4) and Parker (4-for-5) contributing half of those. Massa also recorded a multi-hit game, going 3-for-5.

Game Two

The Pioneers struck early in game two, with Meidenbauer hitting a first inning two-run home run to center that scored Beland. The next inning, sophomore Spencer Robertson reached on an infield single that scored senior Riley Dutton to push the lead to three.

UW-Eau Claire chipped away at the lead over the next couple frames, scoring once in the fourth and getting another in the sixth to trail by one. Gresens continued his day of clutch hits, extending the Pioneers lead back to three in the sixth inning with a two-run single to centerfield.

The Blugolds scored two runs in the top half of the seventh to get back within one, but Kephart entered the game and once again shut down the UW-Eau Claire offense. He earned his fourth save of the season by throwing the final 1.2 frames and striking out two to help the Pioneers hang on for the one-run win.

UW-Platteville finished with eight hits, with Meidenabauer and Dutton each recording a pair of knocks. On the mound, junior Jordan Stanton improved to 2-3 on the season by posting a quality start of two runs across six innings.

Up Next

The Pioneers are scheduled to host Wartburg in a single game on Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m.