Stout Baseball Splits Doubleheader at Platteville
The UW-Stout Blue Devils split a non-conference doubleheader on the road Saturday at Kendall Murray Field, pounding out a 9-0 shutout victory in the opener before falling in a wild, high-scoring 16-14 slugfest in the nightcap. Stout will look to salvage the series in the finale on Sunday, March 29, with first pitch scheduled for noon.
Game 1: Stout 9, Platteville 0
Stout's pitching duo of Luke Carrier and Treysen Witt completely silenced the Pioneers' bats. Carrier (W, 2-1) tossed five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out six and walking one. Witt followed with a perfect four-inning save (S, 1), scattering two more hits to finish off the shutout.
Offensively, the Blue Devils jumped on Platteville starter Pierce Nelson (L, 1-1) early and often. Ryan Kelly delivered the big blow with a two-run homer in the fifth that made it 5-0. Austin Miller added an RBI double, Nick Webster and Mike Pustelnik each drove in a run with sacrifice flies, and AJ Kargel chipped in two hits and a run scored. Stout scored in five different innings, racked up nine hits, and took advantage of eight walks to cruise to the victory. Platteville managed only four hits and never mounted a serious threat.
Game 2: Platteville 16, Stout 14
The nightcap turned into an offensive explosion that featured 30 combined runs, 27 hits, and a parade of pitchers.
Stout got off to a hot start, plating five runs in the first inning highlighted by Mike Pustelnik's three-run homer. Austin Miller went 4-for-4 with four runs scored and two doubles, while Gavyn Schacher erupted for three hits, five RBIs, a double, and a homer. Cage Kavanagh added two RBIs and Mike Pustelnik finished with four. But the Blue Devils' bullpen couldn't contain Platteville's lineup.
The Pioneers answered with six runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back. Platteville took advantage of 11 walks and Stout's pitching instability to pull ahead for good. Carver Kamentz (W, 1-1) earned the victory in relief, while Sam Graunke (L, 1-1) took the loss.
Despite the loss, Stout showed plenty of fight, rallying late and leaving the series undecided heading into Sunday's double header. First pitch scheduled for noon.
