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Wisconsin-Superior
Yellowjackets
Baseball Celebration
Jade Jensen

Baseball

One Marathon, One Sprint Leads Yellowjackets to Split

The Yellowjackets mob Greg Pitts after he scored the winning run in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader.
Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

It was a perfect day for baseball Wednesday in Superior, and the Yellowjackets were happy to oblige, as they hosted UW-Stout in a doubleheader at Ted Whereatt Field. The two teams met last week, splitting a pair of games in less than ideal conditions. The win for the Yellowjackets a week ago was their first of the year in conference play. This week they were able to pick up WIAC win No. 2, but they weren't able to finish off a split of the twinbill.

Yellowjackets 3, Stout 2 (14 innings)

The opening game of Wednesday's game was completed in under three hours, yet the Yellowjackets and Blue Devils dug in and played 14 innings at a brisk pace. In the end it wasn't a hit, but a hit-batsmen that gave the Yellowjackets the 3-2 win.

With one out in the bottom of the 14th Alex Petroski (Park Falls, Wis./Chequamegon) reached on an error and Greg Pitts (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel) followed with a double to the gap in left-center field. A fielder's choice erased Petroski at home but kept runners on the corners. Stout elected to walk Alex Quinones (Waterloo, Iowa) intentionally to load the bases, and Kyle Bellin (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly), who entered the game earlier as a pinch runner, came to the plate and was hit by a pitch, forcing Pitts home with the deciding run.

When Pitts crossed home plate it was the only time in the game the Yellowjackets held a lead. There were chances and plenty of runners on base, but the clutch hit eluded the Yellowjackets as they left 14 runners on base.

Yellowjacket starter Grant Schneider (Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial) and Stout starter Hayden Bowe settled in early, going three innings each without allowing a hit. Stout touched Schneider for a two-out single in the top of the fourth, but the runner was stranded. The Yellowjackets finally got their first hit when Sam Holden (Spooner, Wis./Spooner) lined a one-out single to center in the bottom of the fifth.

With the game scoreless the Blue Devils broke through in the top of the seventh, getting a pair of RBI doubles in the inning to move ahead 2-0.

The Yellowjackets answered in the bottom of the eighth, tying the game. Petroski led off with a single and Pitts infield single put two runners on. Matt Vold (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls) sacrificed both runners into scoring position, and Quinones brought the first run home with a single to cut the lead to 2-1. Brady Flaherty (Balsam Lake, Wis./Unity) followed with a ground ball fielder's choice that plated Pitts with the tying run.

In the bottom of the ninth the Yellowjackets threatened again when Jordan Koepp (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids) led off with a walk. He was lifted for pinch runner Derek Cagle (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) who was bunted into scoring position. Seth Wage (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West) singled to right field to put runners on the corners, and Yellowjacket Head Coach Nick Bursik dialed up a suicide squeeze to try and bring in the winning run, but Petroski's bunt died in front of the plate, allowing Stout catcher Charlie Meyer the chance to scoop up the ball and tag out Cagle. The Yellowjackets stranded two in the inning and the teams headed for extra innings.

Both coaches went to his respective bullpen as the teams moved into the tenth inning. Christian Hall (Siren, Wis./Siren) was summoned in for the Yellowjackets, and although he put a runner on in 11th, 12th, and 14th innings, the Blue Devils never threatened. Stout pitcher Austin Booher matched Hall with four scoreless innings until getting in trouble and allowing the winning run in the 15th.

Hall got the win for the Yellowjackets, giving up just one hit in five scoreless innings of relief. He is now 3-1 on the season. Schneider, meanwhile, allowed two runs on just five hits in nine innings. He struck out one.

Pitts, Quinones, and Holden each had two hits for the Yellowjackets.

Stout 11, Yellowjackets 1 (7 innings)

As long as the first game of the day lasted, the second game was much shorter, as the Blue Devils used a patient approach to draw eight walks against Yellowjacket pitchers, rolling to an 11-1 win in seven innings to gain a doubleheader split.

The Yellowjackets drew first blood in the second game, with Flaherty and Koepp leading off the bottom of the second inning with back-to-back singles. Holden hit into a double play, but Flaherty advanced to third on the play. He came in to score on a double to left-center field by Damian Wiblin (La Crosse, Wis./Logan).

It didn't stay a 1-0 game long, as Jack Schneider drove in two runs with a double to give Stout a 2-1 lead in the top of the third. Stout scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings before score two more in the sixth. Again it was Schneider doing the damage with a two-run single to left field.

With a 6-1 lead heading into the seventh the Blue Devils blew the game open and put the Yellowjackets on life support with a big inning. Kasey Kruse provided the big blow with a two-run double to the left-center field gap. When the inning was done, Stout had scored five runs on five hits and moved ahead 11-1.

The Blue Devils pulled the plug on the Yellowjackets with a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning, evoking the ten-run rule and brining the second game to a close.

Schneider had the big game at the plate, going 3-for-5 and driving in five runs to pace the Blue Devils.

The Yellowjackets had six hits in the second game, getting two apiece from Flaherty and Koepp.

Jonah Lundequam (Cumberland, Wis./Cumberland) got the start for the Yellowjackets and allowed just two hits in 5.1 innings, but control issues got the best of him and he walked five. Lundequam allowed six runs (four earned). Riley Grandson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East) relieved Lundequam and didn't fare much better, giving up two runs on one hit in two-thirds of an inning. He walked three and struck out one. Trevor Stone (Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn) pitched the rest of the way, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits in one inning of work.

The Yellowjackets (6-29, 2-17 WIAC) will host the University of St. Thomas Thursday at Ted Whereatt Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
 
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Players Mentioned

Kyle Bellin

#5 Kyle Bellin

IF
5' 10"
Sophomore
R/R
Derek Cagle

#6 Derek Cagle

OF
6' 0"
Senior
R/R
Brady Flaherty

#10 Brady Flaherty

C
6' 4"
Senior
R/R
Riley Grandson

#27 Riley Grandson

P
5' 11"
Senior
L/L
Christian Hall

#3 Christian Hall

P
6' 1"
Senior
R/R
Sam Holden

#25 Sam Holden

IF
6' 0"
Senior
R/R
Jordan Koepp

#36 Jordan Koepp

IF
6' 2"
Junior
L/R
Alex Petroski

#21 Alex Petroski

SS
5' 9"
Senior
R/R
Alex Quinones

#24 Alex Quinones

C/3B
5' 11"
Senior
R/R
Grant Schneider

#26 Grant Schneider

P
6' 2"
Sophomore
R/R
Trevor Stone

#15 Trevor Stone

P
5' 11"
Sophomore
R/R
Matt Vold

#23 Matt Vold

IF
6' 0"
Senior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Kyle Bellin

#5 Kyle Bellin

5' 10"
Sophomore
R/R
IF
Derek Cagle

#6 Derek Cagle

6' 0"
Senior
R/R
OF
Brady Flaherty

#10 Brady Flaherty

6' 4"
Senior
R/R
C
Riley Grandson

#27 Riley Grandson

5' 11"
Senior
L/L
P
Christian Hall

#3 Christian Hall

6' 1"
Senior
R/R
P
Sam Holden

#25 Sam Holden

6' 0"
Senior
R/R
IF
Jordan Koepp

#36 Jordan Koepp

6' 2"
Junior
L/R
IF
Alex Petroski

#21 Alex Petroski

5' 9"
Senior
R/R
SS
Alex Quinones

#24 Alex Quinones

5' 11"
Senior
R/R
C/3B
Grant Schneider

#26 Grant Schneider

6' 2"
Sophomore
R/R
P
Trevor Stone

#15 Trevor Stone

5' 11"
Sophomore
R/R
P
Matt Vold

#23 Matt Vold

6' 0"
Senior
R/R
IF