EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire baseball team split a doubleheader with St. Mary's (Minn.) on Thursday at Bollinger Fields. The Blugolds won the first game 5-4 in extra innings before dropping the second 8-7 in extras.
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
The Blugolds won the first game in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the 10th inning. Drew Salyers (So. - Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe) drew a bases-loaded walk to push in the winning run and give the Blugolds the victory.
UW-Eau Claire led 4-1 at one point in game one before the Cardinals came back to force extras. Walter Johnson (So. - Minnetonka, Minn.) got the Blugolds on the board with an RBI single in the third inning before St. Mary's tied the game with a run of its own in the fifth. UW-Eau Claire broke that tie when Jacob Buysse (Fr. - Wauconda, Ill./Mundelein) scored on a wild pitch and Ryan Casimier (Fr. - Columbia, Tenn./Battle Ground Academy) scored on an error in the bottom of the fifth. Buysse added an RBI double in the sixth to put the Blugolds ahead 4-1.
St. Mary's scored twice in the eighth and again in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 4-4. However, the Blugolds loaded the bases in the bottom of the 10th and Salyers drew a walk to win the game.
Buysse finished a perfect 4 for 4 at the plate. Johnson added two hits in three trips to the plate. Ben Weiser (Fr. - Milton, Ga.) turned in an excellent start on the mound but took a no-decision. He threw six innings of one-run baseball and struck out seven. Cole Hinkel (So. - Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) earned his first victory of the season by pitching a scoreless top of the 10th.
A late comeback from the Blugolds forced extra innings in game two, which was originally set to be a seven-inning game. UW-Eau Claire trailed 7-4 entering the bottom of the seventh, but Buysse and Dustan Green (So. - Prior Lake, Minn.) hit back-to-back homers to tie the game and force an eighth inning. Buysse hit a two-run blast to right field and Green followed with a solo shot to left.
The Cardinals had scored three runs in the third inning to build an early lead. Connor Weik (Fr. - Wauconda, Ill./Mundelein) got one back with an RBI fielder's choice in the fourth. St. Mary's tacked on another run in the fifth before UW-Eau Claire cut the deficit to one in the fifth. Green hit a sacrifice fly and Matt Melendez (So. - River Grove, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep) stole home to make it a 4-3 game.
St. Mary's plated one run in the sixth, but Casimier answered with an RBI single in the bottom half of the frame. The Cardinals went ahead 7-4 with two more runs in the top of the seventh before the homers from Buysse and Green forced extras. St. Mary's scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Green finished 3 for 3 with two RBIs to lead the UW-Eau Claire lineup. Buysse drove in a pair and scored two runs.
Nico Smith (So. - Chicago, Ill./Taft) started and pitched five innings on the mound. He allowed one earned run and struck out three.
The Blugolds will conclude their Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season with a four-game series at UW-La Crosse on Friday, May 5 and Saturday, May 6. The games will be played at Viterbo Outdoor Athletics Complex, with first pitch for Friday's doubleheader set for 1 p.m.
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