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University of Wisconsin-Superior Athletics

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Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
T.J. Evanson
Jed Carlson-Superior Telegram

Baseball

La Crosse sweeps Saturday

T.J. Evanson


The Yellowjacket baseball team entered Saturday's doubleheader sitting in the fourth and final playoff spot in the WIAC, but their position among the top four teams was anything but stable and the wins had to keep coming.  To make things more difficult, the top team in the WIAC, UW-La Crosse was next up to pay the Yellowjackets a visit.  And things couldn't have gone worse for the black and gold.

UW-La Crosse rode strong starting pitching and timely offense to a Saturday sweep, and knocked the Yellowjackets out of the top four spots in the conference.

Game 1
La Crosse 6, Yellowjackets 1
Box Score

The Yellowjackets entered Saturday having won five of their past six games and looking to solidify their place in the WIAC standings.  Unfortunately for them they would have to do it against La Crosse's Tim Verthein, one of the top pitchers in the conference.  And in this battle, the elite right hander mowed the Yellowjackets down, scattering three hits and striking out 13 to get the win.

The biggest threat of the game for the Yellowjackets came in the second inning.  Jeff Miller (Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn) and #T.J. Evanson# had back-to-back singles.  Two hitters later Michael Doescher (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out, but the Yellowjackets were unable to push a run across.

After two scoreless innings the Eagles blew the game open in the third, scoring five times, and all the damage came with two outs.  A single by Brooks Braga and a pair of walks loaded the bases for Jay Fanta, who also drew a bases on balls and the Eagles were on the board.  Zach Harazin singled through the left side, scoring two and it was 3-0.  RBI singles from Jordan DeBoer and Trevor Burmeister closed out the scoring in the inning.

The Yellowjackets got to Verthein in the bottom of the fifth.  Joe Ahrens (Worthington, Minn./Worthington) walked and Casey Dittel (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury) reached on an error to put two runners in scoring position.  Robbie Veith (Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd) then hit a sharp double to left field, scoring Ahrens to make it 5-1.

La Crosse got the run back in the top of the sixth when Braga took a Dan Genrich (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) pitch over the fence in left-center to make the final score 6-1.

Genrich got the start and took the loss for the Yellowjackets, giving up six runs on eight hits over six innings.  He walked four and struck out two.  Alex Beers (Robbinsdale, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) pitched the final three innings, scattering four hits to go along with a walk and three strikeouts.

Braga went 4-4 and had a walk, scoring twice and driving in one to lead the Eagles.

Game 2
La Crosse 6, Yellowjackets 5
Box Score

In the second game the Yellowjackets had a little more success on offense, but their defense let them down as four errors gave the Eagles everything they needed to get the win and the day-one sweep.

The Yellowjackets got on the board first, matching their offensive output from the first game in taking a 1-0 lead.  Veith singled to lead off the inning and quickly stole second.  Two hitters later Wyatt Soderquist (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) singled up the middle, scoring Veith and it was 1-0.

The Eagles bounced back and took the lead in the top of the third.  Harazin reached on an error that put him on second.  In the next at bat he tagged up to third on a foul out and scored on another error to tie the game.  Corey Geary then walked and stole second and then moved to third on a ground out.  He would score on a Braga double to make it 2-1.

In the bottom of the third the Yellowjackets got the run back.  With one out Veith singled to to left field and later scored on a Soderquist triple to knot the game at 2-2.

La Crosse again broke the stalemate in the top of the fourth.  Fanta singled and stole second before moving to third on Burmeister's single.  A ground out put two runners in scoring position and both came around to score when Harazin reached on an error, giving the Eagles a 4-2 lead.

The Yellowjackets regained the lead in the top of the sixth.  Soderquist doubled to right field and Miller singled to left to put runners on the corners.  They would both be able to trot home when Evanson connected, sending a long home run, his team-leading eighth of the year, over the left-center field fence to make it a 5-4 game.

La Crosse again batteld back and tied things in the top of the eighth.  Cole Cefalu walked to lead off the inning and would score two hitters later when Adam Cordova doubled to tie the game at 5-5.  The Eagles would score the winning run in the top of the ninth.  Harazin singled to center field and was replaced by pinch runner Connor Krohn, who immediately stole second base.  Pinch hitter Jake Paulson then reached on an error, and the miscue plated Krohn with the winning run, making the final score 6-5.

The Yellowjackets pounded out eight hits in the game, led by Soderquist who went 3-4 and was a home run short of hitting for the cycle.  He also scored a run and drove in two.  Veith went 2-5 with a pair of runs scored.

Mike Swanson (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) got the start and pitched his second complete game of the week, allowing six runs (two earned) on seven hits.  He walked two and struck out six.

Braga again led the Eagles at the plate, going 2-4.  He was 6-8 in the twinbill.  No other La Crosse player had a multiple-hit game.

Garrett Scray got the start and the win for the Eagles, giving up five runs on eight hits in eight innings.  He walked two and struck out five.  Zach Lauersdorf pitched a scoreless ninth, walking one and striking out two to pick up his fourth save of the season.

The Yellowjackets (17-16, 8-10 WIAC) will look to bounce back on Sunday, April 29 when they host the Eagles for a doubleheader at Wade Stadium in Duluth.  First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
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