SUPERIOR, Wis. – The Yellowjacket baseball team don't play a ton of home games under the lights. Last season the 'Jackets took on Minnesota Morris at Wade Stadium, and game one came past sunlight. After that, you'd have to look back to the 2022 season where Superior and the Cougars had two-of-three games postponed, and a Sunday afternoon doubleheader would prove who advanced to the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) tournament.
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Both of those instances saw the 'Jackets emerge victorious when the lights were shining bright, and another opportunity came Thursday when UWS took on Martin Luther.
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The Yellowjackets were scoreless through the first two innings until an RBI single plated the first run of the ballgame. A pair of two-run innings gave UWS a 5-0 lead until the top of the ninth and the Knights countered with a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning, but Yellowjacket starter
Ben Welle (Melrose, Minn./Melrose) kept them at bay for the 5-2 win.
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Game Notes
- A base-hit bunt by Jonny Rhodes (Superior, Wis./Superior) began the Yellowjackets' bottom of the third. After he stole second, Payton Steiner (Baraboo, Wis./Baraboo) singled up the middle to plate Rhodes for the first run of the ballgame.
- Two more runs came in the bottom of the fifth, beginning with consecutive walks to Rhodes and Noah Dagostino (Andover, Minn./Andover). After stealing two bases Dagostino reached third and Steiner drew a base-on-balls. He stole second shortly after, leading to a Trey Sybrant (Saint Michael, Minn./Saint Michael-Albertville) single up the middle to plate both Dagostino and Steiner.
- Tanner Voight (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater) doubled to left center and advanced to third on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth. Maxton Howell (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) hit a sacrifice fly to plate Voight before Brian O'Dwyer (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) got on base, who was plated by Wylee Lottman's (Kerkhoven, Minn./Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg) double to left center.
- A pair of hits led off the MLC ninth. Samuel Rodriguez hit a double to the right center field gap to plate two runs, but a lineout and flyout sealed the deal for the Yellowjackets, taking game one by a 5-2 decision.
- Welle picked up his fourth win of the season, bettering his record to 4-1.
- Sybrant once again paced Superior, going 2-4 with a pair of RBIs.
- Dagostino stole three bases on the evening, pacing Superior's seven in the contest. As a team, UWS has stolen 40 bases to date.
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The Yellowjackets and Knights return to play Thursday morning, with a doubleheader set to start at 10 a.m. at the NBC Spartan Sports Complex.
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