PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire baseball team dropped a resumed game at UW-Platteville 20-10 on Saturday before falling in a doubleheader 7-1 and 8-5.
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score | Game 3 Box Score
The Blugolds trailed 14-9 in the sixth inning when Friday's game was resumed on Saturday morning. The Pioneers added three runs each in the seventh and eighth frames. Walter Johnson (So. - Minnetonka, Minn.) hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth. It was his second homer of the contest and the third for the Blugolds after Nate Witte (Jr. - Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) hit one on Friday.
Johnson finished 3 for 4 with five RBIs in the first game. Witte had two hits and three RBIs.
UW-Eau Claire fell behind early in the second game of the day. UW-Platteville scored twice in the third inning and four times in the fourth to go ahead 6-0. The Blugolds got on the board when Cade Mueller (Jr. - Coal City, Ill.) scored on an error, but it was the only run the Blugolds scored. The Pioneers tacked on one final run in the eighth.
Cole Hinkel (So. - Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) pitched two innings in relief in the second game and didn't allow any earned runs. He struck out two.
The Blugolds ran out to an early lead in the final game of the day. Andrew Murphy (Jr. - Mahtomedi, Minn.) scored on a stolen base attempt, and Dustan Green (So. - Prior Lake, Minn.) hit an RBI single to make it a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. The Pioneers plated one run in the bottom of the first, but Witte got it back with a sacrifice fly in the second frame.
UW-Platteville hit a go-ahead grand slam in the fourth inning to go in front 5-3. Witte scored on a wild pitch in the seventh to cut the deficit to one, but the Pioneers added three insurance runs in the bottom half. Ryan Casimier (Fr. - Columbia, Tenn./Battle Ground Academy) hit a sac fly in the eighth to complete the scoring for UW-Eau Claire.
Witte and Johnson led the Blugolds with two hits each in the final game. Ryan Parratt (Jr. - Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Prep) and Sebastian De La Toba (Fr. - Chula Vista, Calif./Olympian) both had scoreless relief outings out of the bullpen.
UW-Eau Claire has its home opener on Tuesday, April 18, when it hosts a doubleheader against UW-Stout at Bollinger Fields. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
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