WHITEWATER, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire baseball team opened up Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Tuesday with a doubleheader at UW-Whitewater. The Blugolds dropped the first game 3-2 and the second 16-5 in seven innings.
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
The Blugolds nearly upset the eighth-ranked Warhawks in the first game of the day. UW-Eau Claire led 2-1 after the first three and a half innings thanks to an RBI single from Austin Buck (Fr. - Stillwater, Minn.) in the third and another RBI single from Andrew Murphy (Jr. - Mahtomedi, Minn.) in top of the fourth. However, UW-Whitewater scored twice in the bottom of the fourth to take a 3-2 lead. Neither team scored again.
UW-Eau Claire had chances to tie the game or take the lead. They got the tying run to third on a triple by Drew Salyers (So. - Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe) in the sixth and got both the tying and go-ahead runs aboard in the top of the ninth after back-to-back doubles by Walter Johnson (So. - Minnetonka, Minn.) and Salyers. Ultimately, they couldn't push them across home plate though.
PJ Ford (Fr. - Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) took the tough-luck loss on the mound after pitching six solid innings. He held the Warhawks to three runs on seven hits and struck out two. Nico Smith (So. - Chicago, Ill./Taft) pitched two scoreless innings in relief.
Salyers and Johnson had two hits each to lead the offense.
In game two, the Blugolds rallied from an early deficit before the Warhawks pulled away in the late stages. UW-Whitewater scored three times in the first inning and twice in the second to go ahead 5-0. UW-Eau Claire answered with a four-run third inning though to cut the lead to one. Buck hit an RBI single and Murphy later followed with an RBI double before Johnson launched a two-run home run to right field.
The Warhawks pulled away with five runs in the bottom of the fourth and four more in the fifth. They scored twice in the sixth. UW-Eau Claire completed the scoring with a run on a Warhawks error in the seventh.
Johnson finished 3 for 4 to lead the offense in the second game. Murphy tallied two hits. The Blugolds hit four doubles in the defeat.
The series was scheduled to continue with another doubleheader on Wednesday, March 29 in Whitewater, but the games were postponed due to weather. The final games of the series will be played April 10 beginning at 1 p.m.
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