DAVENPORT, Fla. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire baseball team defeated Elmhurst University 13-5 on Monday at the RussMatt Invitational to give Head Coach
Patrick Reilly and his staff its first career victory. The Blugolds pounded out 18 hits and got a strong start on the mound from
Sebastian De La Toba (So. - Chula Vista, Calif./Olympian) to cruise past the Blue Jays for their first win of the season.
Reilly was named head coach of the Blugolds last summer. This is his first stint as a head coach.
De La Toba dealt six solid innings on the mound and held Elmhurst to two earned runs. He struck out four and walked two. Meanwhile, the Blugold (1-6) offense got back-to-back home runs from
Walter Johnson (Jr. - Minnetonka, Minn.) and
Drew Salyers (Jr. - Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe) in the sixth inning to highlight its best showing of the season.
Eli Keirstead (Fr. - Savage, Minn./Burnsville) had a 4 for 4 day, and
Jason Lehman (Fr. - Green Bay, Wis./West De Pere) added three hits.
The Blugolds trailed early after Elmhurst plated three runs in the bottom of the first, but UW-Eau Claire took control from there. Keirstead hit a two-RBI triple to highlight a three-run second inning, and although Elmhurst tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the second, the Blugolds took the lead for good shortly after.
Austin Buck (So. - Afton, Minn./Stillwater) hit a bases-clearing, three-RBI triple in the fourth to put them ahead permanently.
In all, UW-Eau Claire scored four times in the fourth and twice in both the fifth and sixth. Johnson and Salyers belted back-to-back solo homers in the sixth.
De La Toba picked up his first win of the season.
James Schutte (Jr. - New Richmond, Wis.) pitched three innings in relief to earn a save. He struck out two.
Dustan Green (Jr. - Prior Lake, Minn.),
Diego Caicedo (Jr. - Pompano Beach, Fla./Northeast), Buck, Johnson, Salyers, Keirstead and Lehman all had multi-hit games for the Blugolds.
UW-Eau Claire has a day off before returning to the diamond on Wednesday, March 20. They take on Knox College at Northeast Regional Park at 10 a.m. Eastern.
