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| UWP christened Kendall Murray Field with a win |
The new Kendall Murray Field proved to be a hit, 15 times over, for the UW-Platteville baseball team.
Playing their first home game in 691 days, the Pioneers made 15 hits while beating the University of Dubuque 16-3 Tuesday to christen their new home.
Mike Kuhn had four hits, including the first home run in the new facility, and drove in five runs, while Jerod Haxton, Nick Aplin and Ross Bennett all had three RBIs.
The Spartans scored two in the first off when Zachary Kass singled home two runners. Those runs, however, would be all about Dubuque would manage against starter Joe Lange. The Pioneer ace struck out six batters in six innings, evening his record at 1-1 and dropping his ERA to 3.10 in four starts.
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| Mike Kuhn hit the new park's first HR |
Kuhn singled home two runs in the bottom of the first to tie the score, and the Pioneers scored four runs on four hits in the second to take the lead for good. Aplin knocked in the go-ahead run, Bennett brought home another, and Kuhn had an RBI double.
After Dubuque scored in the top of the fifth, the Pioneers put the game away with a five-run sixth. Kuhn added the finishing touches on the day, and made park history, by homering in the eighth inning over the fence in the 370-foot alley in left-center.
Wil Osmanski pitched the final three innings for the Pioneers, allowing no runs on three hits to record the save.
First-year Coach Eric Frese saw his Pioneers improve to 5-6, while the Spartans fell to 4-12. The University of Dubuque, led by Shane Schellsmidt, served as the Pioneer home for five games last year as the new Kendall Murray Field was being constructed.
UWP will officially dedicate the field Saturday before the doubleheader with UW-Stevens Point. The family of the late Kendall Murray will throw out the first pitch prior to the noon start. Kendall Murray, who played from 1972-75, still holds the school career strikeout record with 171. He was killed in an accident shortly after graduation.
The Pioneers and Pointers will tangle four times over the weekend, with Saturday and Sunday doubleheaders at noon each day.
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