RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The UW-River Falls baseball team was swept during a pair of one-run losses on Saturday afternoon at UW-Eau Claire.
The Falcons, in their first season back as a varsity program since 2002, finish the season with an overall record of 13-27.
UW-Eau Claire 2, UW-River Falls 1
The Falcons came up short during game one's pitchers duel between
Kole Paulsen and Brennan Cohen as both starting pitchers held their opponents scoreless through seven innings until the home team plated two in the eighth inning, including the game-winning run.
Making his first start as a Falcon, Paulsen had a solid performance on the mound, holding the Blugolds hitless through the first four innings and allowing just one hit in the first seven innings.
Tied 0-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth, UWEC started a two-out rally with a pair of singles, followed by a Will Johnson double to score a pair, granting the home team a 2-0 lead.
In the ninth, the Falcons didn't go down without a fight.
Connor Ducklow was hit by a pitch and came around to score after singles from
Kale Twombly and
Max Krebs, but UWEC's Tyler Webb struck out
Colton Skoglund for the final out with a pair of Falcons on base to secure the save and the 2-1 win for the home team.
UWRF had eight hits compared to four by UWEC, including three hits from Krebs.
UW-Eau Claire 3, UW-River Falls 2 (10 inn.)
Another competitive game in the series finale went into extra innings, and a walkoff homer in the 10th inning by the Blugolds' Carter Vieth led to the series win for UWEC.
The Falcons scored both of their runs off solo homers, one from
Colton Skoglund in the fourth inning, and another by
David Olson in the seventh - his first as a Falcon.
With UWRF leading 2-1 in the ninth inning, the Blugolds tied the game on a balk by
Parker Nedland.
UWEC relief pitcher Chase Watkins held the Falcon bats at bay in the final 2.2 innings, helping lead the home team to bottom of the 10th tied at 2-2 before Vieth's heroics.
UWRF saw another strong performance from its starting pitcher.
Shaun Gavin pitched seven innings and allowed just one earned run, while Nedland was tagged with the loss.
The Falcons totaled 10 hits, including two apiece from Skoglund,
Tanner Hraby, and
Max Krebs.
