Posted April 27, 2008
UW-Platteville rode a Ross Bennett 12th-inning home run and three superb pitching performances to sweep UW-Superior 6-5 and 2-0 Sunday at Kendall Murray Field.
The games were originally scheduled for Superior, but moved down south because of UWS's wet field. The Yellowjackets still served as the home team, as they will in tomorrow's noon doubleheader.
Bennett belted a two-run home run in the top of the 12th in the opener, giving the Pioneers a 6-4 lead. The Yellowjackets pushed across a run in the bottom of the 12th when Scott Hoium singled home Joey Hostrawser with two outs. Reliever Aaron Daniels, however, induced Mitch Loegering into a hitting a fly to short left, which Derrick Rice came in to catch for the final out.
Joe Lange and Daniels combined for 18 strikeouts, matching the Pioneer school record. Lange, whose first six outs were Ks, struck out a career-high 13 in eight and one-third innings, while Daniels recorded five in his 3.2 innings of work.
Bennett had four hits and Mike Flood three in the first game for the Pioneers, while Loegering had three for the Yellowjackets.
In the nightcap, Kyle Mack threw the Pioneers' first nine-inning shutout since Bill Bulaga's in 2006. Mack allowed just six hits and walked no while striking out six. Only one Yellowjacket advanced to third base, and that was with two outs in the ninth. Sean Cummings and Hoium hit infield grounders for hits, but Mack retired Andrew Berenguer on a fly ball to Rice, preserving his pitching gem.
Hostrawser also had a solid pitching afternoon for Superior, taking a shutout into the eighth. Jason Jacobson singled and eventually scored on a throwing error. Bennett, who had been intentionally walked, scored on Flood's groundout to second.
The Pioneers improved to 14-18 overall and 7-11 in the WIAC, while the Yellowjackets dipped to 12-18, 3-15.
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