RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The UW-River Falls baseball team fell by scores of 8-3 and 11-0 Saturday afternoon at First National Bank of River Falls Field against No. 10-ranked UW-La Crosse.
The Falcons and Eagles will round out the weekend series tomorrow with a 12 p.m. start at FNBRF Field. Sunday marks UWRF's 'Employee & Family Baseball Day,' in which all UW-River Falls employees and their families will receive free admission (with a valid UWRF ID).
UW-La Crosse 9, UW-River Falls 3
The Falcons battled throughout but ultimately fell by six runs during game one against the nationally ranked Eagles.
UWL wasted no time getting on the board. They led off the game with a single and later scored to earn a quick 1-0 advantage. The visitors added to their lead in the second inning with two runs off three hits to push the lead to 3-0.
UWRF starting pitcher Cade Bruett settled in over the next couple of innings, holding the Eagles scoreless through the third and fourth. However, they broke through again in the fifth with two runs off three hits, followed by a three-run sixth to increase the lead to 8-0.
Down by eight runs, the Falcons showed life in their half of the sixth. Three consecutive hits from John Santelman, Max Krebs, and Kale Twombly led to a run, followed by a sacrifice fly from Tanner Hraby and an RBI single from Andrew Athmann, trimming the UWL lead to 8-3.
However, that momentum was short-lived. UWL's Brady Lash came in to pitch in relief of AJ Curtis in the sixth and he held the Falcons scoreless in the final 3.2 innings to collect the save.
Offensively, Athmann led UWRF with three hits.
UW-La Crosse 11, UW-River Falls 0
The Eagles' defense and starting pitcher Chayce Osterhaus stymied the Falcon bats in game two of the day and the series, shutting out the Falcons despite eight UWRF base hits.
UWL's offense ignited early, scoring six runs in the second inning, and adding another in the fifth and four more in the ninth.
After the difficult second inning, the Falcons settled in defensively, keeping the Eagles off the scoreboard in the third, fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. Kole Paulsen, who came in to pitch in relief of Jackson Conway in the fifth inning and tossed three scoreless innings in the sixth through eighth.
Eight different Falcons had base hits.
