Pioneers Rally for 4-3 Win Over Loras

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville baseball team snapped a five-game losing streak on Tuesday with a 4-3 come-from-behind win over Loras in the home opener for the Pioneers.

UW-Platteville (2-7) scored three times in the sixth inning, two of which came in on the go-ahead, two-RBI double by junior Topher Scheeler. Pioneer starter Adam Theis picked up his first collegiate win, pitching six innings of three-hit baseball with three strikeouts.

Loras (8-5) stranded eight base runners in the loss, including the tying run on third in the ninth. Mike Canvello and Billy Kass each two hits in the loss for the Duhawks.

Loras took a 1-0 lead in the third inning but the Pioneers came back to tie it in the fourth. In the inning, Levi Ney extended his hitting streak to seven games with a double to left center. Then, he advanced to third on a Loras error. With runners on the corners, the Pioneers hit into a double play but Ney scored to even the game at 1.

The Duhawks took advantage of a failed pickoff attempt in the sixth to regain the lead at 2-1. The Pioneers came back to score three in the bottom half of the inning. To start the inning, Trevor Kattre doubled down the left-field line. He advanced to third on a bloop single by Cody Luther to put runners on the corners. Looking to score in the same fashion as Loras had in the top half of the inning, Kattre was thrown out at the plate and Luther advanced to second.

With the hot-hitting Ney at the plate, Loras elected to make a pitching change. Ney delivered a single to the gap in left center to score Luther from second to tie the game at 2. Then, Steve Wolke reached on a walk to put runners on first and second with one out. The Duhawks nearly got out of the inning with a strikeout for the second out of the inning.

Then, Scheeler approached the plate in a 1-for-11 slump and delivered a double just past the Loras left fielder to score Wolke and Ney for a 4-2 lead for the Pioneers. Loras scored a run in the seventh and stranded runners on first and third in the inning to cut the deficit to 4-3.

In the ninth, reliever Shane Murphy overcame a walk to start the inning to get a clutch strikeout and a foul out to end the inning and game for his first save of the season for the Pioneers.

The next contest for UW-Platteville is on Wednesday, Mar. 21 against St. Ambrose at 4 p.m. at Modern Woodmen Park which is the home of the Quad City RiverBandits, the single A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.