Pioneers Wrap Up Season Against UW-Whitewater Saturday

WHITEWATER, Wis. – In its final two games of the season, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville baseball team (10-25, 7-17 WIAC) was swept on the road by UW-Whitewater (28-11, 15-9 WIAC) by scores of 7-5 and 19-8 on Saturday afternoon.

The Pioneers got on the board first in game one, scoring twice in the fourth inning on an error and an RBI groundout by sophomore Slate Higa. UW-Whitewater responded with four of their own in the bottom half of the inning, but the Pioneers worked their way back to tie the game at four midway through the seventh, with a solo home run by freshman Charlie Breen the tying run. After the Warhawks regained the lead with a run in the bottom of the seventh, freshman Spencer Robertson evened the game at five when he crossed the plate on a wild pitch. But UW-Whitewater knocked in two more in the eighth and the Pioneers stranded two in the ninth as the Warhawks took game one 7-5.

UW-Platteville finished with 11 hits, with Breen recording a team-high three. Senior Wyatt Molitor and Higa each added two as seven of the nine starters tallied hits in the game. On the mound, sophomore Isaac Bixby put together a solid start, throwing 6.2 innings and allowing five runs (three earned). Freshman William Hough was charged with the loss after giving up two runs (one earned) across the final 1.1 innings.

In game two, the Warhawks put together some big innings early to hold a 13-0 lead after the first three frames. The Pioneers offense found some success in the fourth as Breen plated two with a two-run triple to right center. Senior Andrew Zakula drove in three more runs in the inning with a home run to left to help UW-Platteville cut the deficit down to eight. In the fifth, the Pioneers scored three more as back-to-back doubles by senior Grant Mullins and Breen made the score 13-8. But UW-Whitewater scored six runs over the next three innings to win 19-8 in seven innings.

Mullins paced the Pioneers with three hits while Breen continued his strong day with two hits and three RBI. UW-Platteville finished with 10 hits in the game and sophomore Justin Fago recorded two hits on the day as well. Senior Brandon Molldrem dropped to 2-4 on the season with the loss after giving up seven runs (six earned) across the first two innings.

The Pioneers wrap up the 2023 season with a 10-25 record and 7-17 mark in WIAC play.