Pearson goes 11 for win, Kinderman delivers sacrifice fly in 11th

UW-Stout 3, UW-Stevens 2 (11 inn) | UW-Stevens Point 1, UW-Stout 0 | Photo Gallery | Archived Video

MENOMONIE (April 16, 2016) - Kellen Pearson pitched 11 innings and Tyler Kinderman delivered a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning to give Pearson the win as UW-Stout defeated UW-Stevens Point, 3-2, in the first game of the day. The second game was a pitching duel with the Pointers winning 1-0 with the only run coming in the ninth inning.

  In the opener, the Blue Devils (9-9, 2-4 WIAC) grabbed the lead in the second inning when Kinderman drove in Ryan Conner, who had reached with a leadoff single, then moved to second on Jon Krueger's sacrifice bunt. Kinderman's deep single scored Connor.

The Pointers (8-12, 2-4) took the lead with a two-run third. Clint Rose walked then advanced to third on Ray Greco's double. Rose scored on an error. A groundout by Ben Gerber plated Greco and Stevens Point had a 2-0 lead.
 

The Blue Devils tied the score in the fifth when Brady Burzynski, who was playing his first game in the outfield since being injured in mid-March, drove home Hunter Dicus with a sacrifice fly.

Pearson and his counterpart, the Pointers Mark Kowalke, settled down. The Pointers got only two more hits the rest of the way. Stout turned a double play in the sixth and Pearson stranded a runner in the seventh. The Blue Devils got four hits the rest of the way, and stranded five, including leaving the bases loaded in the 10th.

In the 11th, Derek Graves, who came in as the designated hitter in the ninth inning and would go on to pitch nine innings in the second game, drew a lead off walk off of the Pointer's Alex Stodola, who to the hill for Kowalke. Nate Sorenson came on to run for Graves, and promptly moved to second on a wild pitch. Following an infield pop-up, Sorensen stole second, setting up Kinderman's sacrifice fly to center field.

Pearson faced 39 batters and threw 121 pitches, striking out four, allowing one walk and scattering seven hits. Kowalke strucke out four, allowed four walks and scattered nine hits. 

Kinderman finished the game going 1-for-3 with two RBI. Connor was 2-for-5 and Burzynski was 2-for-4. Noah Brown saw his htting streak end at 11 when he went 0-for-4. Seven different Pointers had hits.

In the second game, Graves went all nine innings, striking out four, walking five and allowing three hits. The Pointers got the only run in the top of the ninth, an unearned run when Turner Doornink hit a two-out single to drive in Peter Strommen from third.

The Pointers' Cole Erickson also went the distance for the win, striking out three, walking three and allowing nine hits.

Connor wa 2-for-4 for Stout and Dicus went 2-for-3.

The two teams will meet Sunday, April 17 at noon at Nelson Field.