EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire baseball team split a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) doubleheader with UW-Stout on Wednesday at Carson Park, winning the first game 7-4 before falling 18-10 in the second game.
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
Some late-game heroics helped the Blugolds earn the victory in game one. The score was tied at 4-4 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, where UW-Eau Claire plated three runs to take the lead for good. Drew Salyers (So. - Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe) hit a go-ahead solo home run to lead off the frame and put the Blugolds in front. Andrew Murphy (Jr. - Mahtomedi, Minn.) added a sacrifice fly and Dustan Green (So. - Prior Lake, Minn.) hit an RBI single for some insurance in the eighth, and James Williams (Fr. - Moreno Valley, Calif./Citrus Hill) slammed the door in the ninth.
The Blue Devils led early in game one after scoring single runs in the first and second innings. The Blugolds stormed back in the third though, with Walter Johnson (So. - Minnetonka, Minn.) tying the game with a two-run double and Jacob Lacy (Sr. - Shawano, Wis.) putting them in front with an RBI single. Murphy stole home later in the frame to stake the Blugolds to a 4-2 advantage.
UW-Stout used solo home runs in the fifth and seventh to tie the game, setting the stage for the Blugolds' late surge.
Williams earned his first collegiate victory on the mound by pitching two scoreless frames. He struck out one. Charley Griffin (Sr. - River Falls, Wis.) started on the hill and worked 6.2 innings. He allowed four runs and struck out six.
Salyers led UW-Eau Claire at the plate with three hits. Green and Ryan Casimier (Fr. - Columbia, Tenn./Battle Ground Academy) added two hits each. Casimier also walked twice and stole a base.
The Blugolds fell behind early in game two, and despite a late push couldn't recover. The Blue Devils scored in each of the first four innings, capped with a five-run fourth. It helped them go ahead 9-3 entering the fifth. UW-Eau Claire had scored on an RBI single from Salyers in the second, an RBI triple by Lacy in the third and an RBI groundout by Austin Buck (Fr. - Stillwater, Minn.) in the fourth.
The Blugolds fought back in the fifth and sixth. Casimier scored on an error, Green knocked an RBI single and later scored on an error in the fifth. Johnson and Murphy hit back-to-back homers in the sixth to trim UW-Stout's lead to 10-9.
The Blue Devils answered with a run in the seventh, but Matt Melendez (So. - River Grove, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep) got it back with an RBI single in the bottom half. UW-Stout put the game away for good in the eighth by scoring six runs, including a grand slam.
Murphy and Green had three hits each in game two. Johnson and Cade Mueller (Jr. - Coal City, Ill.) chipped in with two hits apiece. Mueller doubled twice.
The Blugolds will be right back at it with a doubleheader against St. Mary's (Minn.) on Thursday, April 4. First pitch is at 12 p.m. at Bollinger Fields.
