13th-Ranked Pointers Come Back For One-Run Victories

Nationally ranked UW-Stevens Point scored deciding runs in the eighth inning for two baseball wins over UW-Oshkosh on Wednesday (April 25) at Tiedemann Field. The Pointers (24-8/12-4 WIAC) are ranked 13th in the NCAA Division III by D3baseball.com.

In game one, a pair of sacrifice flies gave UW-Stevens Point a 6-5 decision. After trailing by five, the Pointers rallied for an 8-7 triumph in the nightcap. UW-Stevens Point is the conference leader in hitting (.335), pitching (2.82 earned run average) and fielding (.972).

The Pointers got off to an ideal start when their first four men reached base. Justin Jirschele drove in two runs with a double. Next up was Sean Gerber, who ripped a run-scoring triple. UW-Stevens Point held a 4-0 lead until the bottom of the third.

Doug Beattie (Jr. • Escanaba, Mich.) singled and Michael Swift (Fr. • Kenosha) walked to get UW-Oshkosh's (13-18/9-11 WIAC) offense on track. With two outs, Michael Polcyn (Fr. • Ripon) pulled a double to right field that scored two runs.

Kyle Van Abel (Sr. • Kaukauna) tripled to lead off the sixth frame. He touched home on an error before Swift delivered a two-run double to put the Titans on top, 5-4.

Dan Douglas singled in the seventh before advancing on a wild pitch and fly out. Jirschele notched the sacrifice fly to equal the score at 5. The Pointers then drew three walks to set up a Douglas sacrifice fly in the eighth frame.

Pitching in relief, Eric Stenson threw 5.2 innings without allowing a hit. Troy Mrkvicka (Sr. • Greendale) surrendered the first four runs while getting one out, but James Lacy (So. • Shawano) took the loss with two runs allowed in 1.1 frames.

The win went to JP Feyereisen, who yielded two unearned runs in three innings. UW-Stevens Point starter Max Frederick was charged with three runs in five frames, while Cam Seidel got the last three outs for a save.

During the nightcap, UW-Oshkosh posted a big first inning of its own. Tyler Kamps (Jr. • Appleton) drew a walk and Polcyn marked a single. Van Abel then stepped up and hammered a three-run blast over the left-field wall.

The Pointers chipped away with Ryan Schilter's two-run single in the second inning to pull within one. During the fourth, Kamps and Polcyn each knocked home one run. Brock Guetzke (Jr. • Hartford) followed with a single, and a throwing error helped UW-Oshkosh increase its margin to 7-2.

In the sixth, Riley Spetz came through with a pinch-hit double that made it a 7-4 ballgame. After a Jirschele single to begin the seventh, Gerber drilled a two-run homer to center to pull within one.

Small-ball was the theme in the eighth frame, as UW-Stevens Point drew two walks and got hit by two pitches. Gerber upped his daily total to five RBI when he grounded out for a 7-7 score. Ryan Iverson then got hit with the bases loaded to force in the winning run.

Iverson also earned the pitching win with two scoreless frames. Starter Brad Stroik (one inning) gave up three runs, while Jacob Herbst (2.2 innings) let in four. Seidl got five outs by facing just four batters for his second save of the day.

The loss went to Swift after he walked two and got one man out. Matt Wells (Jr. • Little Chute) started for the Titans, allowing three runs over 4.2 frames. Lacy was also charged with three runs in 1.1 innings.

Polcyn and Van Abel each counted four hits in the doubleheader, while Van Abel extended his hitting streak to 14 games.

UW-Oshkosh wraps up conference play with a four-game series at UW-Platteville on Saturday and Sunday (April 28-29).