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Late Inning
Heroics and Solid Pitching Key Sweep
UW-Stevens Point used late inning heroics and
outstanding pitching performances from Brandon Hemstead and Ryan Hopkins to
sweep a doubleheader from UW-Stout on Wednesday and move one-half game out
of first place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Hemstead pitched his first career nine-inning
complete game in a 1-0 opening game victory and Hopkins provided four and
two-thirds innings of scoreless relief as the Pointers rallied for a 7-5 win
in the second game.
UW-Stevens Point finished off a perfect six-game
homestand and improved to 16-8 overall and 8-3 in the WIAC. The Pointers
play their next eight games against conference co-leaders UW-Whitewater and
UW-Oshkosh, who are both 9-3 in the league. UW-Stout fell to 8-17 overall
and 7-9 in the conference.
Stewart Larsen provided the dramatics in the
opening game, driving in the game-winning run with the bases loaded and two
outs in the bottom of the ninth. Ryan Byrnes hit a one-out double down the
right field line to start the winning rally. Adam Evanoff was intentionally
walked and Jordan Zimmermann drew another walk to load the bases. Following
a shallow pop-up for the second out, Larsen delivered the game-winning hit
down the first base line.
Hemstead, meanwhile, cruised along with a
five-hitter and six strikeouts. He allowed only two runners to reach second
base in the game, but worked out of trouble in the top of the ninth when the
Blue Devils had runners at first and third with two outs before a groundout
ended the inning.
Neither team mounted many opportunities in the
one-hour, 46-minute contest as Pointers� catcher Ben Warwick threw out three
UW-Stout runners stealing and UW-Stevens Point hit into three double plays
in the first five innings. Warwick also had three of the six hits allowed by
Blue Devils� starter Scott Decker, who worked eight scoreless innings before
giving way to John Englund in the ninth.
UW-Stevens Point used another late rally in the
second game, getting two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a
5-5 tie. Zimmermann led off the inning with a single, moved to second on a
bunt and to third on an error. Tim Schlosser and Chuck Brehm then delivered
back-to-back run-scoring singles to put the Pointers ahead.
UW-Stout put two runners on in the top of the
ninth against Hopkins, but Jeff Zielke came on to record a pickoff and a
strikeout to earn the save. Hopkins allowed five hits and struck out six to
get the victory.
UW-Stevens Point jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a
three-run home run by Byrnes in the first inning. The Blue Devils rallied
with a two-run single by Bryan Vilstrup in the second inning and then scored
three runs after two outs and nobody on base in the fourth. The Pointers
tied the game with two runs after a two-out error in the fifth.
UW-Stevens Point had 22 straight scoreless innings
pitched before allowing the two runs in the second inning. |
