MINNEAPOLIS — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire baseball team opened its 2025 season with a doubleheader sweep of Bethel (Minn.) on Tuesday at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Blugolds defeated the Royals, who received votes in the most recent D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 poll, 7-5 and 5-3. Both games ended in seven innings.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UW-Eau Claire (2-0) got five hits apiece from Drew Salyers (Sr. – Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe) and Cole Clausen (Jr. – Prior Lake, Minn.) across the two contests. Salyers had a four-hit game in the nightcap, and Clausen went 3 for 3 in Game 1.
- The Blugolds rallied from an early deficit in the first game, and later broke a tie game in the fifth inning. The Royals (2-2) scored in the top of the first to start the day, but Diego Caicedo (Sr. – Pompano Beach, Fla./Northeast) and Clausen answered with RBI singles in the bottom half to put UW-Eau Claire in front 2-1.
- Austin Buck (Jr. – Afton, Minn./Stillwater) and Clausen hit back-to-back homers in the third inning to make it a 5-1 lead. Buck's round-tripper was a three-run shot, and Clausen's was a solo blast.
- Bethel answered with four runs in the fourth to tie the game at 5-5. The Blugolds took the lead for good on an RBI single from Clausen in the fifth, and Brayton Thillman (So. – Eau Claire, Wis./North) added a run-scoring single of his own in the sixth.
- Sebastian De La Toba (Jr. – Chula Vista, Calif./Olympian) earned the win on the mound with a scoreless, three-inning relief outing. He struck out three.
- The second game followed a similar trend, with UW-Eau Claire pulling ahead in the fifth inning to break a tie game.
- With the score tied 2-2, Will Johnson (Fr. – Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest) ripped a two-RBI triple to right-center to put UW-Eau Claire ahead 4-2 in the top of the fifth.
- The Royals made it a one-run deficit with a run of their own in the bottom of the fifth, but Buck restored the two-run advantage with an RBI single in the sixth.
- Brennan Cohen (Sr. – Vestavia Hills, Ala.) earned the victory on the mound with a five-inning start. He held Bethel to three runs and struck out three. Draza Dupor (So. – Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) earned the save with two scoreless innings of work. He struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to end the game.
UP NEXT
The Blugolds are scheduled to host Carleton College for a doubleheader on Saturday, March 8. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. at Carson Park. Stay tuned to Blugolds.com for any schedule changes.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at
Blugolds.com or on our app,
Blugold Sports, and on social media on
Twitter,
Instagram, and
Facebook.
