The University of Wisconsin Superior claimed an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference doubleheader sweep thanks to a walk-off steal of home plate by senior Chad Patko (Stone Lake, Wis./Hayward H.S.), defeating the University of Northwestern 6-5 in game two after a 10-4 Yellowjacket victory in the opener during Sunday afternoon's regular season finale at Whereatt Field in Superior.

UW-Superior (15-25, 9-7 UMAC) punched its ticket to the UMAC postseason with the victories, edging out Northland College for the fourth seed in the tournament which will open up Thursday afternoon at Wade Stadium in Duluth, Minnesota. The Yellowjackets will take on bridge rival and top-seeded the College of St. Scholastica in their first round match-up.

Patko's walk-off steal with the bases loaded in the ninth capped off a comeback by UWS after Northwestern (15-25, 5-11 UMAC) hit a pair of two-run home runs in the third inning, striking a 4-1 after sophomore Travis Miller (Whittier, Calif./La Serna H.S.) had driven in a run on a groundout in the first. Freshman Brandon Rolf (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater H.S.) walked leading off the bottom of the third, coming around to score with two outs after a pair of wild pitches in the inning. Senior Chad Patko (Stone Lake, Wis./Hayward H.S.) followed that up with a single, coming around to score on a double by Miller one batter later. The two pitching staffs dueled their way in and out of trouble in the following innings, and the Yellowjackets would chase Eagles starter Nathan Ehnstrom after 8.0 innings when junior Spencer Lawniczak (Pulaski, Wis./Pulaski H.S.) drove in two in the eighth with his second double of the day, tying the game at 5-5.

Junior Brady Stocker (River Falls, Wis./River Falls H.S.) picked up the victory on the mound, working 4.0 shutout innings of relief in the nightcap after previously giving up a pair of runs in one inning during the first game of the day. He scattered just two hits while striking out four in relief of senior Brock McDermid (Pulaski, Wis./Pulaski H.S.), who gave up five earned on eight hits while striking out six in 5.0 innings. In the ninth, Patko would walk with one out, stealing second before an intentional walk to Miller. After a strikeout by Northwestern reliever Jake Franzen, senior Nik Mattson (Superior, Wis./Superior H.S.) walked to load the bases. With sophomore Mike Rodriguez (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech H.S.) at the plate after coming in as a defensive replacement earlier in the inning, head coach Frank Pufall sent his starting second baseman home to steal the plate and the victory.

UW-Superior 10, Northwestern 4
The Yellowjackets won in far less dramatic fashion during game one. Senior Grant Schneider (Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial H.S.) tossed 7.0 innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits while striking out nine to pick up the victory on the mound, handing the ball to Stocker for the eighth while senior Trevor Stone (Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn H.S.) closed out the victory with a scoreless ninth.

Patko, Miller, Mattson, and Rolf each had a double in the victory. UW-Superior scored two in the first and the second, then tacked on four runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth to pull away for the victory. Patko stole third base and came around to score on an error during the seventh, as the Yellowjackets made Northwestern pay for four errors, four wild pitches, and a passed ball during the course of the game.

UP NEXT
UW-Superior takes on St. Scholastica Thursday to open the UMAC Tournament. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. following the other opening round match-up between Bethany Lutheran College and the University of Minnesota Morris.