EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire baseball team capped off its season with a doubleheader sweep of Carleton College (Minn.) on Tuesday at Bollinger Fields. The Blugolds won the first game 13-8 and the second 12-2 in seven innings.
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
The Blugolds pounded 21 hits across the doubleheader and had three innings where they scored five or more runs. They recovered from a shaky start in game one by using a pair of big innings, and did the same in game two with a seven-run frame.
Carleton scored four times in the top of the first inning in the first game of the day. The Blugolds got one run back on an RBI single from Walter Johnson (So. - Minnetonka, Minn.) in the bottom half, but later trailed 5-1 heading to the bottom of the fourth. That's where they started to break the game open.
Carson Windeshausen (So. - Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) started off a five-run flurry by doubling in a run. David Janssen (Jr. - Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) followed with a two-RBI single, and Austin Buck (Fr. - Stillwater, Minn.) launched the first home run of his college career over the left field fence to plate two more runs.
The Blugolds piled on six more runs in the fifth. Scott Richards (Sr. - Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandberg) hit a two-RBI single, Ryan Casimier (Fr. - Columbia, Tenn./Battle Ground Academy) knocked a two-RBI double and Johnson capped the outburst with a two-RBI single. Richards hit another RBI single in the sixth to make it a 12-5 lead. The Knights scored three times in the ninth but couldn't get any closer.
Buck finished 3 for 5 to lead the Blugolds. Johnson and Richards had two hits and three RBIs apiece. Brennan Cohen (So. - Vestavia Hills, Ala.) earned the win by pitching four strong innings of relief, holding Carleton to one run.
The Knights took an early lead again in game two, scoring once in the top of the first. UW-Eau Claire immediately answered with two runs in the bottom half, with an RBI double by Windeshausen tying the game and a run-scoring wild pitch putting the Blugolds in front.
UW-Eau Claire crossed the plate seven times in the second inning to put the game away. Windeshausen and Richards had run-scoring singles and Connor Weik (Fr. - Wauconda, Ill./Mundelein) hit a two-RBI double. Jacob Lacy (Sr. - Shawano, Wis.) added a sacrifice fly too.
Buck scored another run on an error in the third, and Ethan Plantz (Jr. - South Elgin, Ill./Elgin Academy) hit an RBI single in the fourth. Jacob Buysse (Fr. - Wauconda, Ill./Mundelein) finished off UW-Eau Claire's scoring with an RBI double in the fifth.
Charley Griffin (Sr. - River Falls, Wis.) pitched a complete game on the mound to earn the win. He fanned 11 batters in his strongest performance of the season to earn his first win. He held the Knights to six hits and walked three. Casimier and Windeshausen led the offense with two hits each.
The Blugolds finished the season with a 12-27 record. They recognized their two graduating seniors — Richards and Kendal Lecker (Sr. - Seymour, Wis.) — with a senior day ceremony between games.
