UW-La Crosse 5, UW-Stout 3
UW-La Crosse 16, UW-Stout 7
LA CROSSE - UW-La Crosse put an end to the UW-Stout baseball season by completing a four-game sweep Sunday.
The Eagles, who had swept Stout on Saturday, finished the job with wins of 5-3, 16-7, on the La Crosse campus field. With the sweep, the Eagles clinched a berth in the WIAC tournament next weekend.
In the opener, the Eagles (22-15, 13-11) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second as Cory Poppitz knocked in Jay Fanta with a single. La Crosse made it 2-0 in the fifth as Joey Casper had an infield single to score Lance Poppy.
Stout (18-18, 9-15) cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the sixth as Ryan Gilbertson (Jr, River Falls) scored on a La Crosse error. Poppitz gave the Eagles a 3-1 lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to score Fanta and Matt Trocke made it 5-1 with a two-run double to score Poppitz and Darren O'Donnell.
The Blue Devils scored twice in the top of the ninth and had the tying runs on base. Brian Giebel (So, River Falls) had a sacrifice fly with one out to make the margin 5-2 and Andy LaBrosse (So, Stillwater, Minn) scored with two outs on another Eagle error to cut the deficit to two. Steve Henes then retired Gilbertson on a fly out to rightfield to end the game.
In the nightcap, La Crosse broke open a close game with an eight-run seventh inning, which turned into a nightmare for Stout. La Crosse held a slight 7-6 lead and sent 12 batters to the plate.
Six Stout errors in the inning assisted the Eagles' efforts and all but one of the eight runs came with two outs. None of the eight runs were earned.
Both teams abused pitchers in this contest, with each team sending four pitchers apiece to the mound. The Eagles recorded 14 hits, while Stout had 10 hits, which matched the number of errors the team committed.
La Crosse's Storm Gram had four RBI, including three on a bases-loaded double in the seventh inning.
Stout's Adam Stuessel (Jr, River Falls) recorded his first home run as a Blue Devil, a two-run shot in the fifth. Stuessel was 2-for-4 and also hit a double. Alex Burian (So, Eau Claire) and Ben Bengtson (So, Warroad, Minn) each had two hits.
La Crosse 4, Stout 3
La Crosse 9, Stout 3
LA CROSSE (May 2, 2009) - UW-La Crosse scored in the bottom of the ninth to win game one, then jumped out to a 9-0 lead in game two for a 9-3 win as the Eagles swept UW-Stout Saturday.
In game one, Brian Giebel (So, River Falls) opened the game with a lead-off home run to give Stout a 1-0 lead. The Eagles took advantage of two Stout errors and a wild pitch to score two runs.
Stout (18-16, 9-13) grabbed the lead back in the fourth inning when Matt Tschida (Sr, Inver Grove Heights, Minn) bounced a ground-rule double to score two runs and a 3-2 Blue Devil lead.
The Eagles Darren O'Donnell single to centerfield in the sixth inning knotted the score. The Eagles (20-15, 11-11) loaded the bases in the eighth inning, but Sam Weinberg (Fr, Edina, Minn) came in for the Blue Devils and forced two flyouts.
La Crosse opened the ninth with a lead off double by Casper. Casper got to third on a passed ball. Stout intentionally walked the next two hitters. Cory Poppitz's fielder's choice plated Casper for the winning run.
In the second game, the Eagles scored three in the first, two in the third, one in the fourth and three in the fifth for a big 9-0 lead.
Stout scored three runs in the sixth, keyed by Ryan Gilbertson's (Jr, River Falls) two-run double. Tschida drove in another run one batter later.
