Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 UW-Stevens Point 18, UW-Stout 5 |
UW-Stevens Point 14, UW-Stout 8 |
Photo Gallery
MENOMONIE (April 1, 2012) - UW-Stevens Point tallied 43 total hits over two games and handed UW-Stout a sweep, downing the Blue Devils, 18-5, 14-8, Sunday at Nelson Field.
The Pointers (10-4, 3-1 WIAC), ranked 11th in the latest ABCA/Baseball Writer's Division III poll, batted the ball around for 26 hits in the first game, then belted out 17 hits in the second game.
In the opener, the Blue Devils (8-6, 1-3 WIAC) were not out of the game until the eighth inning. Stout, trailing 5-2, picked up three in the bottom of the seventh. But then the roof fell in as the Pointers tallied nine runs, sending 14 batters to play in the eighth inning, then added four more in the ninth.
Santiago Morales (Jr, West St. Paul, Minn) gave Stout the early lead in the game, hitting a leadoff double in the first inning. The Pointers added single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. The Blue Devils cut the lead to 3-2 on
Ben Yaucher's (Jr, Janesville) ground out RBI. The Pointers took a 5-2 lead in the top of the seventh, but the Blue Devils tied the score in the seventh, after
Jake Duske (Sr, Montrose, Minn) drove in a run and two runs scored after Morales' single to right field was misplayed.
The teams were tied at 2 apiece after two innings of the second game, but the Pointers put up a 5-spot in the third to take a 7-2 lead. Stout added a pair of runs as
Ryan Gangestad (Fr, Maple Grove, Minn) drove in two runs with a single to right field.
The Pointers picked up three more runs in the sixth to pull ahead 10-4, before their pitching fell apart in the eighth, walking in two runs around
Matt Guida's (Jr, Hawley, Minn) RBI single and Stout pulled to within three, 10-7.
But the Pointers took the game back with four runs in the top of the ninth. Gangestad's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth was Stout's last gasp.
Gangestad had a decent day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three RBI in the second game, 4-for-8 on the day. Guida found his stride in game two. After fielding five wild pitches in the first game, Guida moved to the designated hitter for the second game and went 3-for-5 at the plate.
Pitchers were at a premium throughout the two games as both coaches went deep into their pitching staff, both teams using seven different pitchers on the day.
In the first game, Stout coach
Toby Gardenhire used five pitchers - including pulling second baseman Duske to the mound for an inning.
In the second game, the Blue Devils took advantage of the Pointers' pitching gaffes, as coach Pat Bloom used four pitchers in the eighth inning, five total for the game.
The Blue Devils will host St. Mary's University, Tuesday, April 3 at 2 p.m. in a pair of 7-iinning games, then will travel to UW-Platteville, Thursday, April 5 and Friday, April 6.
