ST. PAUL, Minn. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire baseball team scored early and often to defeat Hamline 13-2 in eight innings on Thursday at CHS Field. The Blugolds crossed the plate 11 times across the first four innings to pull away early.
The Blugolds took an immediate lead in the top of the first inning. Nate Witte (Jr. – Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) scored on an error with one out, and Cade Mueller (Jr. – Coal City, Ill.) added an RBI single later in the frame to put UW-Eau Claire ahead 2-0.
Four more runs crossed the plate for the Blugolds in the top of the second. Witte hit an RBI single before Andrew Murphy (Jr. – Mahtomedi, Minn.) followed with a two-RBI double to left field. Chase Yaeger (Jr. – Black River Falls, Wis.) added an RBI single of his own to make the Blugolds' lead 6-0.
Drew Salyers (So. – Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe) led off the third with a triple and came in to score on a double by Austin Buck (Fr. – Stillwater, Minn.). Buck later scored on an RBI single from Murphy. Dustan Green (So. – Prior Lake, Minn.) drew a bases-loaded walk to make the score 9-0, and Walter Johnson (So. – Minnetonka, Minn.) scored on a passed ball to make it a 10-run game after two and a half innings.
Johnson knocked in another run with a single in the fourth inning. The big lead was more than enough for pitcher Nico Smith (So. – Chicago, Ill./Taft), who earned the victory with five scoreless innings of work. He held the Pipers to two hits and struck out one.
The Blugolds ended the game in eight innings thanks to a two-RBI triple from Buck in the top of the eighth.
Aaron Skrypek (Fr. – Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) pitched two scoreless innings of relief and struck out one. Brennan Cohen (So. – Vestavia Hills, Ala.) struck out two batters in one inning of work.
UW-Eau Claire's lineup bashed 16 hits. Murphy and Johnson had three knocks apiece, and Murphy and Buck shared the team high in RBIs with three each. Buck, Witte and Yaeger all had two hits.
The Blugolds are right back in action on Friday, April 14. They begin a four-game WIAC series against UW-Platteville with a road doubleheader at the Pioneers, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
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