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Pointers Squeak Past Tommies to Stay Alive
in NCAA Tournament
All season, the UW-Stevens Point baseball team
relied on big offensive numbers for victories, but Friday, the Pointers
proved they can win games in other ways.
After dropping a 5-3 decision to St. Scholastica
in a completion of a suspended game, the Pointers squeaked out a 2-0 victory
over St. Thomas to remain alive in the regional tournament in Whitewater.
UW-Stevens Point is 36-10 overall and will now
face St. Scholastica in an elimination game on
Saturday at 11 a.m. The winner needs to defeat UW-Whitewater twice for the
regional title, beginning Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and again on Sunday at noon.
With a strong wind blowing straight in and the
game scoreless into the eighth inning, the Pointers scored both runs in the
top of the frame with three walks, a hit batter and a bunt single. Reserve
infielder Stewart Larsen, who had 14 at-bats all year and hadn�t played
since May 1, led off inning with a four-pitch walk off Tommies� ace Brian
Krause, who had just entered the game in relief of starter Riley Bosch.
Joel Hojnacki hit into a fielder�s choice bunt and
then Jake Frombach laid down a perfect base hit bunt that the Tommies� third
baseman fielded and threw into right field, advancing Hojnacki to third. St.
Thomas pulled the infield in with one out and Tim Schlosser hit a hard
grounder to second with the only play at first, allowing the run to score.
Ryan Jones and Steve Wiczek were given intentional walks and Chuck Brehm was
hit by a pitch on a 2-2 count to drive home the second run.
St. Thomas mounted its only offensive rally of the
game in the bottom of the eighth. Pointers� pitcher Matt Polomis had allowed
only two hits over the first seven innings, but surrendered leadoff singles
to Jake Schraufnagel and Tim Corley. Closer Kevin Pankow came on to record a
strikeout and a groundout before forcing Brett Olson to fly out to end the
inning.
Pankow also pitched a perfect ninth inning to
record his school record tying seventh save of the season.
The game was dominated by Polomis and Bosch for
the first seven innings. Polomis had just one strikeout, but did not walk a
batter, while Bosch had six strikeouts and allowed only three hits. The
Pointers� only other threat came in the fourth when they had runners at
second and third with none out after a double by Jones and a single and
stolen base by Wiczek. However, Bosch got a strikeout, a lineout and another
strikeout to work out of the jam.
UW-Stevens Point�s best offensive play on the day
came on the very first pitch. Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth
inning in the suspended game from Thursday against St. Scholastica, Polomis
began the day with a runner on base and a 1-1 count. He drilled the first
pitch from Saints� pitcher Jake Eiler over the rightcenter field wall to tie
the game at 3-3.
Pointers� pitcher Shane Standifer retired the
first five batters he faced before Mike Lewis singled and Brandon Swartz
walked. Kenny Kolquist then singled up the middle to drive home a run for a
4-3 lead. In the seventh, Tom Simonson was hit by a pitch to open the
inning. He attempted to steal second and was thrown out, but the umpire
ruled that the Pointers dropped the ball after the tag and D.J. Lahti then
ripped a run-scoring single.
Eiler pitched a complete game over the two days.
He finished with 11 strikeouts, including seven looking, and no walks. The
Pointers had three hits during the completion of the game on Friday as Eiler
retired the last seven batters faced. |
