Pioneers tame Lions to sweep Finlandia in home opener
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville baseball team swept the Lions of Finlandia University in the season home opener at Kendall Murray Field on Sunday afternoon. The Pioneers (6-11, 4-6 WIAC) defeated Finlandia (3-17, 0-10 WIAC) 10-5 in game one and 17-4 in seven innings in game two.
Game 1
Game 1
![Finlandia](https://cdn.prestosports.com/action/cdn/logos/id/hx2d8zt7nfegojzy.png)
![Wis.-Platteville](https://cdn.prestosports.com/action/cdn/logos/id/fmv9xte7zc23eu6s.png)
Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 2 |
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2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | X | 10 | 12 | 1 |
Game 2
Game 2
![Finlandia](https://cdn.prestosports.com/action/cdn/logos/id/hx2d8zt7nfegojzy.png)
![Wis.-Platteville](https://cdn.prestosports.com/action/cdn/logos/id/fmv9xte7zc23eu6s.png)
Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
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2 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 | X | 17 | 14 | 0 |
Team Stats
Game 1
Finlandia
Game 2
Finlandia
![Pioneers tame Lions to sweep Finlandia in home opener](/sports/bsb/2021-22/photos/0003/AP9I4845.jpg?max_width=600)
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville baseball team swept the Lions of Finlandia University in the season home opener at Kendall Murray Field on Sunday afternoon. The Pioneers (6-11, 4-6 WIAC) defeated Finlandia (3-17, 0-10 WIAC) 10-5 in game one and 17-4 in seven innings in game two.
In game one, the Lions jumped out to a 2-0 lead off a 2RBI homerun in the 1st inning, but the Pioneers tied it up their next at-bat. UW-Platteville chipped away and added solo runs in three of the next five innings, but Finlandia was not done and tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the 7th scoring three unearned runs.
UW-Platteville didn't let the knot hold for long and Jason Adams singled up the middle in the bottom of the 7th to score one run. The Pioneers went on to add insurance and then some in the next frame with four batters, Mitchell McLaughlin, Brady Katterhagen, Ross Krist and Jake Wegner, tallying RBIs to extend the lead to 10-5.
Isaac Bixby (2-0) pitched seven innings and received the win striking out 12, walking none and allowing five hits and two earned runs. Bixby was relieved by Nate Jennings who recorded the save while pitching the final two frames.
After two ties in the first game, the Pioneers and Lions took game two into the 3rd inning tied 2-2. Zach McCoy doubled in the 1st inning to score two runs, but a homer and RBI single in the 2nd by Finlandia left yet another tie on the scoreboard. That tie was shortlived once again and this time, the Pioneers left no doubt about the outcome of the game after the 3rd inning. With two outs, UW-Platteville scored nine runs to take an 11-2 lead. Jordan Collins, McLaughlin, Dillon Sunnquist, Krist and Wegner all tallied RBIs with Wegner batting in the final three runs off a homerun. UW-Platteville extended the lead by four in the 4th inning and two more runs in the 5th frame. The Lions cut the lead by two runs in the 7th inning, but it was not enough to keep the game from finishing in seven innings.
Michael Greco (1-2) recorded the win in game two striking out 10, walking one and surrendering four hits and two runs in five innings pitched. Jake Schneider finished the final two innings on the mound and struck out four, walked two and allowed three hits and two runs.
Four Pioneers tallied four RBIs on Sunday with Sunnquist (2-3) doing so in one game played. Krist finished the day 5-8 while McLaughlin finished 3-5 and Wegner finished 3-9 to round out the four players with 4 RBIs.
The Pioneers and Lions will return to Kendall Murray Field for games three and four of the WIAC series on Monday, April 11 with first pitch scheduled for noon.