UW-L Falls Twice to UW-Stevens Point

For Immediate Release: Saturday, April 18, 2009

La Crosse, Wis. – The UW-La Crosse baseball team dropped a pair of WIAC games to UW-Stevens Point Saturday afternoon at North Campus Field. The Pointers took the opener, 16-6 in eight innings and the nightcap, 14-5. UW-L falls to 16-8 overall and 9-5 in the WIAC while UW-Stevens Point improves 17-9 overall and 5-5 in the conference.

The Pointers pounded out 22 hits in the opener, including at least two from eight of the nine starters. Cody Koback hit for the cycle, finishing 4-for-6 with five RBI and three runs scored. He hit a grand slam in the fifth inning. Sam Spurney was 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBI while Kevin Thomas added three RBI. Jeremy Richter was 3-for-4 with an RBI and Jordan Rennicke 2-for-6 with three runs scored and two RBI.

UW-L took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the third on Storm Gram’s two-run home run, but UW-Stevens Point batted around in the fourth and fifth innings. The Pointers tallied five runs in the fourth highlighted by Rennicke’s two-run single and scored six times in the fifth with Koback’s grand slam.

Luke Zurbriggen (1-2) suffered the loss for UW-L, pitching 3.2 innings, allowing 11 hits, seven runs (six earned) and one walk while striking out one. Gram finished 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored, three RBI, a triple and home run. Sean Cory was 2-for-3.

Garrett Nix (4-0) earned the win for UW-Stevens Point, going 6.0 innings, allowing seven hits, six runs (five earned) and two walks with three strikeouts. He also hit two batters.

In the nightcap, UW-Stevens Point took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second, but UW-L tied the game in the bottom half of the inning as Cory Poppitz scored on a fielder’s choice and Darren O’Donnell on a Pointers’ fielding error. UW-Stevens Point led 4-2 in the fourth after a pair of runs and added four more runs in the fifth to lead 8-2. Brad Archambeau hit a three-run home run in the fifth for the Pointers.

The Eagles cut the lead to 8-5 with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Gram had an RBI on an error while Poppitz and Joey Casper both had RBI singles. UW-Stevens Point got those three runs back in the top of the eighth on run-scoring singles from Kevin Thomas and Sean Cummings and an RBI double by Eric Fritz. The Pointers finished with three runs in the ninth with Richter hitting a two-run single.

Joel Delorit (3-1) earned the win for the Pointers, pitching 5.0 innings, allowing five hits, two runs (both unearned) and three walks while striking out seven. Fritz finished 3-for-5 at the plate with one run and one RBI while Cummings was 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBI. Archambeau finished with four RBI while Richter was 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBI.

Brandon Walczak (2-1) suffered the loss for UW-L, going 3.0 innings, allowing three hits, four runs (two earned) and five walks with one strikeout. Trocke, Cory, Poppitz and Casper each had two hits for the Eagles.

UW-L and UW-Stevens Point will play another doubleheader Sunday, April 19 at noon at North Campus Field.