FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 19, 2022)- The UW-Stout Blue Devils ended their spring break trip to Florida with an 11-9 win in dramatic fashion in extra innings..
The Blue Devils struck first on Saturday morning.
Jack Schirpke continued his hot hitting with a 3-run home run to left field, scoring
Jacoby Endreas and
Joel Thimsen. The Mariners would answer in the bottom of the second with a run of their own to cut the lead to 3-1.
In the fourth inning,
TJ Carlson singled up the middle to score Schirpke to extend the lead to 4-1. After the Mariners cut the Blue Devil lead to 4-3,
Charlie Szykowny and
Colin Hageman hit back to back doubles, followed by a Thimsen single to extend the lead to 6-3. The back and forth affair would continue as the Mariners would tack on five runs over the next two innings to take the lead 8-6.
In the eighth inning, the Blue Devils would load the bases in an attempt to get back in the game. Thimsen would come through with a single to cut the lead to 8-7. The next at bat, Schirpke hit a liner down the right field line scoring two more Blue Devil runners, to give the Blue Devils a 9-8 lead. The Mariners would once again score in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at nine.
After a scoreless ninth inning, the Blue Devils found themselves in business in the top of the tenth. After a Thimsen walk and a
Ryan Herbst bunt single, Schirpke doubled in a run to take a 10-9 lead. The hit was Shirpke's fourth hit of the morning and sixth RBI. Two batters later, Carlson would add an insurance run for the Blue Devils on a softly hit ball to the first basemen.
Szykowny (1-0) pitched a scoreless 10th inning to secure the win in the Blue Devils final game of the Florida trip and pick up his first collegiate pitching victory. .
Jace Baumann gave the Blue Devils a solid start on the mound, going three innings allowing zero earned runs and only one hit.
Dak Doyle,
Cody Urban and
Justin Sedin were all excellent out of the bullpen.
The Blue Devils are back in action next weekend when they travel to UW-Platteville for their first WIAC action of the season, Saturday, March 26 and Sunday, March 27. .
