Pointers Jump on Top of St. Olaf Early to Advance to Final

Box Score

     A seven-run first inning proved to be the final margin for UW-Stevens Point on Friday as the Pointers advanced to the NCAA Division III regional final for the second straight year with an 11-4 win over St. Olaf in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.

     Pointers� leadoff hitter Jake Frombach opened the inning with a home run and ninth batter Brandon Scheidler capped the frame with a two-run shot as UW-Stevens Point built the early cushion.

     The Pointers are now 32-16 overall and advance to face Ripon in the regional final on Saturday at noon. UW-Stevens Point needs to defeat the Red Hawks twice to advance to the Division III championship in Appleton. The Pointers swept a doubleheader from Ripon on April 25, handing the Red Hawks their only losses in their last 32 games.

     Friday�s win avenged a loss to St. Olaf on March 23 when the Oles rallied past the Pointers 4-3 in nine innings. The teams played a second game that UW-Stevens Point led 6-0 in the fourth inning before it was rained out.

     After Frombach�s leadoff homer, Nat Richter doubled and later scored on a play when Ryan Byrnes was thrown out stealing. Tim Schlosser later added a run-scoring single and Jordan Zimmermann added a run-scoring double.

     Doug Coe hit a solo homer in the second and Zimmermann drilled a solo homer in the third for a 9-0 lead.

     St. Olaf scored in the fourth inning on back-to-back doubles by Luke Gagnon and Pat Wadzinski and then chased Pointers� starter Ryan Hopkins in the fifth with a pair of run-scoring singles by Chris Terrazas and Josh Schultheis. Terrazas finished the day four-for-four and was a torrid 11-for-16 in the four regional games.

     Brandon Hemstead worked four and one-third innings of relief, allowing just two hits with five strikeouts. He allowed one unearned run when Wadzinski reached on an error and scored on a sacrifice fly by Terrazas in the sixth.

     UW-Stevens Point tacked on two more runs in the seventh as Adam Evanoff hit a run-scoring double and scored on a two-out error. The Pointers are now 21-0 this season when scoring in double figures.

      Evanoff was two-for-three and Zimmermann was two-for-four with two RBI�s to lead the Pointers.