DAVENPORT, Fla. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire baseball team split a pair of games on Wednesday to wrap up its time at the RussMatt Invitational. The Blugolds defeated Hobart 23-11 in their first game of the day before falling to Kalamazoo 12-7.
The Blugolds pounded 18 hits in the victory over Hobart and scored in all seven innings to win via the 10-run rule. They scored multiple times in each inning except the sixth, where they crossed the plate once. UW-Eau Claire had two five-run innings.
UW-Eau Claire posted four runs in the top of the first and never looked back. After Austin Buck (Fr. - Stillwater, Minn.) led off the game with a double, Nate Witte (Jr. - Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) drove him in with an RBI triple. Andrew Murphy (Jr. - Mahtomedi, Minn.) and Walter Johnson (So. - Minnetonka, Minn.) followed with RBI doubles, and Cade Mueller (Jr. - Coal City, Ill.) ground out for an RBI.
The Blugolds stretched their lead to 9-1 with five runs in the second. Matt Melendez (So. - River Grove, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep) hit a two-RBI double in the frame, and Mueller added an RBI single. Witte got an RBI on a groundout and Buck scored on a wild pitch.
It became an 11-1 lead in the top of the third after Witte and Chase Yaeger (Jr. - Black River Falls, Wis.) hit back-to-back sacrifice flies. The Blugolds tacked on three more runs in the fourth thanks to a two-RBI single from Buck and an RBI double by Carson Windeshausen (So. - Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial).
Another five-run frame came in the fifth with help from RBI singles by Dustan Green (So. - Prior Lake, Minn.) and Otto Treichel (Sr. - Madison, Wis./Madison West) and another sac fly from Witte. Jacob Lacy (Sr. - Shawano, Wis.) scored on a wild pitch in the sixth, and the Blugolds completed the scoring with a two-RBI triple from Lacy and an RBI single by Ryan Casimier (Fr. - Columbia, Tenn./Battle Ground Academy).
Aaron Skrypek (Fr. - Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) earned the victory by pitching five innings. He struck out five and walked two, allowing seven runs.
Buck finished 3 for 3 with two RBIs and three stolen bases. Murphy and Mueller had two hits each and Witte drove in four runs.
Kalamazoo breaks game open late
In the second game of the day, Kalamazoo scored the decisive runs in the top of the ninth inning for a 12-7 victory. The score was tied at six entering the final frame.
UW-Eau Claire led early after a first-inning two-RBI single by Jacob Buysse (Fr. - Wauconda, Ill./Mundelein). Kalamazoo answered with three runs in the top of the third and two more in the fourth. The Blugolds pushed across two runs in the bottom of the fifth by scoring on an error and an RBI double by Lacy.
Trailing 5-4, the Blugolds tied the game with a run in the bottom of the seventh. With Buck on first base, Drew Salyers (So. - Arapahoe, Colo./Centennial) dropped down a sacrifice bunt. With nobody covering third base, Buck advanced an extra base before darting home after Kalamazoo left that base uncovered too.
Kalamazoo retook the lead with a run in the top of the eighth, but Mueller homered to left to tie the game back up at six. Six runs in the top of the ninth made the difference for Kalamazoo, although Murphy doubled and later scored on an error in the bottom of the ninth.
Charley Griffin (Sr. - River Falls, Wis.) turned in a sterling start on the mound. The right-hander worked seven innings and allowed four earned runs on seven strikeouts and no walks. Murphy had three extra-base hits to lead the offense, and Mueller finished with two hits.
UW-Eau Claire will return from Florida and head to Whitewater this weekend to open Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. The Blugolds play doubleheaders against UW-Whitewater on Saturday, March 25 and Sunday, March 26. Game times for each day are 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. They enter conference play with a 5-5 record.
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