UWS baseball team still alive after split at Stout

The University of Wisconsin-Superior baseball team kept its Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoff hopes alive by splitting a doubleheader with UW-Stout Monday at Nelson Field in Menomonie.

The visiting Yellowjackets won the opener 12-10 but then had their five-game winning streak snapped with an 8-7 loss in game two.

Superior (17-14) is currently sitting in the fourth and final spot for the playoffs with a league record of 8-8.

The Yellowjackets are one game behind UW-Whitewater (19-12, 9-7) and two games ahead of UW-Oshkosh (13-18, 9-11).

UWS hosts league-leading UW-La Crosse (22-8, 14-2) for doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday then wrap up its regular season next weekend with four home games against Whitewater.

Oshkosh wraps up play in the WIAC with four games this weekend at UW-Platteville (6-25, 2-14), which is currently in last place.

Stout (16-18, 6-14) is still alive, but completes league play by hosting La Crosse for four games next weekend.

Superior trailed 7-1 early in the opener Wednesday before rallying past the Blue Devils.

Wyatt Soderquist helped Superior take an 8-7 lead with a three-run home run in a seven-run seventh inning.

Stout regained a 10-8 lead in the bottom of the seventh.

Superior got within 10-9 in the eighth on ground out then took a 12-9 lead in the ninth when Tom Fairbanks walked with the bases loaded and Jeff Miller hit a two-run single.

Graham Miller, Andrew Lange pitched before Cody Johnson, who improved to 2-0 with the win, and Ethan Branum, who picked up the save.

The Yellowjackets had 12 hits, three apiece by Rob Veith, Soderquist and Miller. Veith also scored three times and Soderquist drove in four runs.

Ryan Gangestad had three hits for Stout.

Stout’s Brett Vavra hit walk-off double to score Jon Schoch in bottom of the ninth inning for the win in the second game.

With a 7-6 lead, the Yellowjackets went to Branum for the second game in a row in the bottom of the ninth inning. This time however, things didn’t work out for Superior.

Morales greeted Branum with a home run to lead off the inning, tying the game at 7-7. Branum retired the next two hitters before Schoch reached on an error, Yusten walked and Vavra drilled a double to left-center field, scoring Schoch, and giving Stout the 8-7 win.

The Yellowjackets again pounded out 12 hits, led by Tony Remund, who had two hits, including a homer and two runs. Veith, Remund, TJ Evanson and Shaun Marshall also had two hits apiece.

Bobby Tyndall, Kyle Gauger and Nick Bursik pitched before giving way to Branum.

Morales, Guida and Schoch were all 2-for-5 for the Blue Devils.

’JACKET JOTTINGS: UWS and UWLC will play at Ted Whereat Field on Saturday and at Wade Stadium in Duluth on Sunday.

Softball

Amanda Le Bard had a five-hitter with seven strikeouts to lead the UWS softball team to a 4-0 nonconference victory over Northland on Wednesday at Kenwood Field on the St. Scholastica campus.

Outfielder Kayla Anderson went 3-for-3 to pace the Yellowjackets, while Kylie Garing and Sam Bona had two hits apiece to lead the Lumberjills (16-19).

The teams were originally scheduled to play a doubleheader Wednesday before rain kept it to a single contest.

All four Yellowjacket runs came in the fifth inning.

Kayla Blom doubled and scored on Anderson’s single for the first run. Anderson moved up on Kristen Haider’s sac bunt and scored on Taylor VanDamme’s single.

VanDamme eventually moved to third on a single by Chelsey Jarzin and scored when the two pulled off a double steal. Ashlee Olson then drove home Jarzin with another single.

The Yellowjackets (11-17, 4-8) host UW-Whitewater on Saturday and UW-Oshkosh Sunday. Both doubleheaders begin at noon and will be played at Liebaert Field.

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