NORTHFIELD, Minn. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire baseball team split a doubleheader at Carleton College on Wednesday, defeating the Knights 8-4 in Game 1 before falling 10-8 in Game 2.
Drew Salyers (Jr. - Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe) had a huge day to help the Blugolds (6-16) snap an eight-game skid. He went 5 for 10 with five runs scored across both games against the Knights.The center fielder led off Game 1 with a solo home run, his fifth homer of the season.
Jacob Lacy (Sr. - Shawano, Wis.) added a two-RBI double in the third inning to extend the lead to 3-1, and
Ethan Plantz (Sr. - South Elgin, Ill./Elgin Academy) and
Brayton Thillman (Fr. - Eau Claire, Wis./North) drove in runs in the fourth to make it 5-2.
Austin Buck (So. - Afton, Minn./Stillwater) added a sacrifice fly in the seventh before Thillman sealed the win with a two-RBI single later in the frame.
Joe Clinton (Jr. - Aurora, Colo./Cherokee Trail) worked 2.2 innings on the mound in Game 1. He struck out one.
Cole Hinkel (Jr. - Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) pitched three innings of relief to earn his first save of the season.
Thilman finished with three hits in the first game and Salyers added two.
UW-Eau Claire led 7-0 heading to the bottom of the second inning in Game 2, but couldn't hold on. The Knights outscored them 10-1 the rest of the way. The Blugolds had opened the game by scoring four of five first-inning runs on Carleton errors, and
Walter Johnson (Jr. - Minnetonka, Minn.) and
Dustan Green (Jr. - Prior Lake, Minn.) added RBIs in the second inning. Carleton responded though, scoring twice in the bottom of the second, three times in the fourth and five times in the sixth. The winning run crossed the plate on a hit by pitch with the bases loaded in the sixth.
Salyers had three hits in Game 2 and Johnson added two of his own.
The Blugolds return to the field this weekend when they host a four-game series against No. 11 UW-Whitewater. It will be the home opener for the Blugolds, with a doubleheader set to begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, at Carson Park. Another doubleheader is set for Sunday, April 14, beginning at 12 p.m.
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