EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire baseball team closed its 2024 season with a pair of defeats to UW-La Crosse on Saturday at Carson Park. The Eagles took the first game 10-0 and the second game 6-3.
The Blugolds were held to four hits in a Game 1 shutout but responded well in Game 2, bringing the tying run to the on-deck circle by the end of the second contest before ultimately coming up short.
A three-run homer in the third inning gave the Eagles the first run of the day, and they added two more in the fourth and three in the fifth to pull away. Meanwhile, the Blugolds didn't have much going offensively to propel a comeback.
Walter Johnson (Jr. - Minnetonka, Minn.) hit a double and finished 1 for 3, but the Eagles were able to end the game early.
Game 2 saw the Blugolds fare better. After UW-La Crosse opened a three-run lead through two innings,
Connor Weik (So. - Wauconda, Ill./Mundelein) launched a two-run homer in the third to make it a one-run deficit. UW-La Crosse added runs on solo homers in the fourth and seventh innings, and made it 6-2 with a run in the eighth. UW-Eau Claire threatened a rally in the ninth, scoring on a sacrifice fly from
Drew Salyers (Jr. - Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe), but couldn't get any closer.
Weik finished 3 for 5 in Game 2, and both
Cade Mueller (Sr. - Coal City, Ill.) and
Austin Buck (So. - Afton, Minn./Stillwater) had two hits.
Draza Dupor (Fr. - Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) started on the mound in Game 2 and worked three innings, allowing three runs.
Sebastian De La Toba (So. - Chula Vista, Calif./Olympian) threw four innings in relief and struck out four.
The Blugolds finished the season with an 11-29 record. The team honored its seniors prior to Game 1:
Joe Clinton (Sr. - Aurora, Colo./Cherokee Trail),
Justin Coronado (Sr. - Atascocita, Texas),
Charley Griffin (Sr. - River Falls, Wis.),
Jacob Lacy (Sr. - Shawano, Wis.), Mueller and
Ben Teigland (Sr. - Hastings, Minn.).
