EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire baseball team picked up two more wins over Finlandia University, defeating the Lions by scores of 17-9 and 11-1 (7 innings) on Wednesday night at Carson Park.
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
In game one, the Blugolds scored early and often with big innings in the second and sixth en route to their 10th win of the season.
Andrew Murphy (Fr. – Mahtomedi, MN) led Eau Claire with an impressive 4-for-6 performance at the plate, including a double and homerun. The newcomer also drove in six and scored three runs.
Otto Treichel (Jr. – Madison, WI/West), Drew Salyers (Fr. – Centennial, CO/Arapahoe) and Nick Zezulka (Jr. – St. Anthony, MN/St. Anthony Village) each collected three hits apiece.
Eau Claire put two runs on the board in the first inning with one swing of the bat as Treichel blasted his fifth homer of the season.
The Lions would take the lead with three runs in the second, but the advantage would be short-lived as Eau Claire put six more runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning.
Zezulka led off the inning with a single through the left side and would later score on Salyers' single. Ryan Venne's (So. – Eau Claire, WI/North) single up the middle would plate Salyers to give Eau Claire the lead once again.
Murphy followed Venne with an RBI double and Treichel would drive in another run with a single up the middle. In his second at bat of the inning, Zezulka tallied another single, this time to center field to bring in another Blugold run.
Both teams would score two runs in the third and Finlandia would rally for three more in the top of the fourth via a three-run homerun, but Zezulka would respond in the bottom half with a homerun of his own.
The Lions would add their final run in the fifth, but Eau Claire was not done just yet.
In the sixth, Cade Mueller (So. – Coal City, IL) hit an RBI double to left and would later score on Salyers sacrifice fly to center. The next two Blugolds would reach on Lion errors, and Murphy would make them count with a homerun to left.
Joe Clinton's (Fr. – Aurora, CO/Cherokee Trail) sacrifice fly in the seventh would give Eau Claire their 17th run of the night to seal the 17-9 win.
Kendal Lecker (Jr. – Seymour, WI) would earn the win on the mound, striking out two and scattering four hits in 2.1 innings.
In game two, Eau Claire would earn an 11-1 win over the Lions in 7 innings.
After two scoreless innings, the Blugolds got their offense going in the third. Following a leadoff error to put a runner on, Salyers tripled to right center to plate the first run of the game. Nate Witte (So. – Woodbury, MN/East Ridge) followed with a single to short, scoring Salyers.
The Lions got a run in the fourth, but Eau Claire would respond with a run in the bottom half thanks to a Scott Richards (So. – Orland Park, IL/Carl Sandberg) double to left.
In the fifth, the Blugolds would take advantage of two free passes and another Finlandia error to score three more runs for a 6-1 lead. After back-to-back walks, Murphy's double to center would plate the first run while a throwing error would score the other two.
Eau Claire would add on in the sixth. Witte singled to get himself on base and would advance to second on a wild pitch and to third on a throwing error. He would then come around to score on a Chase Yaeger (So. – Black River Falls, WI) single through the left side.
Another Murphy double would put two Blugolds in scoring position for Treichel, who would drive in both with a rope to right. Several wild pitches would score two more and by the end of the sixth, Eau Claire held a 10-1 lead.
Finlandia would get a runner in scoring position in the top of the seventh, but a double play would extinguish the inning for the Lions.
In the bottom half, Eau Claire would get a leadoff single to center from Richards. Matt Melendez (Fr. – River Grove, IL) would pinch run for Richards and would move over to second on a groundout and to third on a wild pitch. He would then score on Witte's sacrifice fly to right, ending the game via the 10-run rule, 11-1.
Witte would lead the way for Eau Claire with a perfect 3-for-3 performance at the plate and also drove in two runs. Murphy and Richards also collected two hits each, with Murphy hitting two doubles.
Justin Coronado (Fr. – Humble, TX/Atascocita) picked up the win on the mound, going all seven innings while striking out nine and giving up just two hits.
The Blugolds (11-23, 6-18 WIAC) will be back at Carson Park this weekend, hosting UW-La Crosse on Friday and Saturday and Hamline University on Sunday.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at Blugold Game Day or on the athletics app, UWEC Blugolds.
