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| Kyle Mack throws a pitch against the Pointers |
Posted May 2, 2009
By Paul Erickson, UWP Sports Information Director
Baseball can sometimes be a funny game, and UW-Platteville and UW-Stevens Point reaffirmed that fact Saturday at Kendall Murray Field. The Pointers won the first game 10-1, but the Pioneers rebounded to win the second 11-1.
"Oh boy that seems like it's been our season," UWP senior third baseman Lee Hawkins said. "We come out cold and then we put it together and seem to loosen up in the second game. We're not pressing as much. I guess that's how we do it sometimes."
Kyle Mack threw a complete-game victory in the nightcap, which the Pioneers won in seven innings due to the 10-run rule.
"We feel real comfortable with him out there on the mound," Hawkins said. "We know he's going to compete and throw strikes. We all feel a little more relaxed when he's on the mound."
Mack improved to 5-4 on the year and earned his 13th career victory, tying for second in the Pioneer record book.
"I was just trying to make pitches, get after guys right away and establish the fast ball," Mack said. "We played real good defense."
Hawkins singled home the first run of the game in the first, and Brenden Watson brought home two more in the inning for a 3-0 lead. Another Watson two-run single keyed a four-run third that broke the game open. Kevin Osmanski and Derrick Rice each drove in runs in the fourth, staking UWP to a 9-0 lead.
Mack held the WIAC leaders scoreless until the seventh when Point pushed across a run. Hawkins, however, ended the bases-loaded threat by starting a nifty 5-4-3 double play.
"The defense picked things up and made some really nice plays," Mack said. "It makes it a lot easier for me."
Levi Ney was hit by a pitch, Jason Jacobson singled in the seventh, and Kevin Osmanski singled through the drawn-in infield, ending the game via the mercy rule.
Jacobson had four hits, while Osmanski and Rice each had three, helping the Pioneers win 20 games for just the third time in school history.
UWP is now 20-18 overall and 10-12 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Pointers are 26-12, 14-8.
The Pointers walked over the Pioneers in the opener, drawing 12 bases-on-balls, including eight in the first three innings. Three walks came with the bases-loaded in either the first or second inning, leading to a 4-0 lead on just one hit.
UWSP finished with 12 hits, 12 walks and four hit batters, although the Pointers left 21 runners on base. Kyle Cummings and Kevin Thomas had three hits, with Thomas driving home four runs for the Pointers. Joel Delorit yielded only three hits over seven innings.
As the runs mounted in the first game, so did the importance of Mack's performance in the second game, and he responded.
"We had to bounce back," Mack said. "We can't afford any more conference losses. I just wanted to go out and do the best I can."
The Pioneers are in fifth place in the WIAC, and need a sweep tomorrow and a UW-Stout sweep of UW-La Crosse to make the conference playoffs.
In between Sunday's games, the Pioneers will salute their nine seniors. One of those who probably won't be seeing action is Mack, whose last start at Kendall Murray Field will be one he remembers for a long time.
"This one was definitely special," he said.
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