Anyone who follows spring sports in the Upper Midwest understands that the seasons are a grind. Case in point, the UW-Superior baseball team. Entering play on the Arizona trip the Yellowjackets were slated to play 40 games in 48 days, weather permitting of course. Saturday they were wrapping up their Arizona sojourn with their ninth game in seven days.

A mini grind in the grind of a season.

Saturday morning a tired and somewhat depleted Yellowjacket squad fell behind early and weren't able to recover in a 10-4 loss to Gustavus at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Ariz.

The loss ended the spring trip for the Yellowjackets (2-7), who now head north to continue their compressed schedule.

Gustavus scored a single run in the bottom of the first and added three more in the bottom of the second to move ahead early. The Yellowjackets cut the four-run deficit in half in the top of the third inning when Brandon Rolf (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater H.S.) and Greg Pitts (Chicago, Ill./Mount Carmel H.S.) started the inning with back-to-back hits that put two runners in scoring position. A ground out brought home Rolf and a double by Chad Patko (Stone Lake, Wis./Hayward H.S.) scored Pitts to make it a 4-2 game.

The Gusties posted a crooked number in the fifth when they scored three more runs, then blew the game open late with three more runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 10-2 lead.

In the top of the ninth the Yellowjackets scored the final two runs of the game. With two runners on Alex Osness (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West H.S.) singled through the left side to score Jason Steinke (Sebeka, Minn./Sebeka H.S.), and then two hitters later Alec Rabin (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield H.S.) followed suit, singling through the left side and scoring pinch hitter Cameron Lee (Durban, South Africa/Kearsney College) to make the final margin 10-4.

Richard Vanden Branden (Neenah, Wis./St. Mary Central H.S.) (0-2) made his second start of the season and pitched six-and-one-third innings, allowing seven runs on 10 hits. He didn't walk anyone and struck out two. Jonah Lundequam (Cumberland, Wis./Cumberland H.S.) and Mike Rodriguez (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech H.S.) pitched the rest of the way for the Yellowjackets.

Offensively the Yellowjackets had 11 hits, getting to apiece from Nick McNosky (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle H.S.), Travis Miller (Whittier, Calif./La Serna H.S.), and Rolf.

Up Next
The Yellowjackets travel to St. Paul, Minn. for a doubleheader against Macalester College Wednesday, March 29. Game time is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.