RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The UW-River Falls baseball team split a doubleheader against UW-Stout on Wednesday afternoon, falling 11-9 in game one before rebounding with a 15-10 win in game two.
With the split, UWRF improves to 18-13 overall and 11-9 in conference play, remaining in third place in the WIAC standings.
UW-Stout 11, UW-River Falls 9
After falling behind 10-2, the Falcons' comeback attempt came up short in an 11-9 loss in game one of the doubleheader.
The Blue Devils jumped ahead early, scoring four runs on five hits in the second inning to take a 4-0 lead.
UW-River Falls answered with two runs in the fourth.
John Santelman doubled in a run and later scored on a fielder's choice to cut the deficit to two.
In the sixth, Grant Ingram hit a grand slam as Stout erupted for six runs in the inning, extending its lead to 10-2.
The Falcons responded in the bottom half of the inning, scoring four runs, including a three-run home run by
Andrew Athmann.
River Falls continued its comeback bid in the seventh.
Daniel Kibler doubled home a run before Santelman followed with a two-run single, trimming the deficit to 10-9.
UW-Stout added an insurance run with a lead-off home run in the eighth to push the lead back to two. The Falcons threatened in the ninth, loading the bases, but a fly-out ended the game.
The Falcons finished with 13 hits, outhitting the Blue Devils, but stranded eight runners on base. Four Falcons turned in multi-hit performances, led by
Carter Klein with three hits.
UW-River Falls 15, UW-Stout 10
UWRF's bats came alive early, and the Falcons held off a late-game scare to take game two and split Wednesday's doubleheader.
Kaleb Zabielski put the Falcons on the board in the first, delivering a two-run single with two strikes and two outs.
River Falls added six more in the second, using four hits and three Stout errors to post a big inning.
Daniel Kibler hit his sixth home run of the season - a three-run blast - to help the Falcons build a commanding lead.
The Falcons added one run in both the fifth and sixth innings.
John Santelman singled home
Hudson Wagner in the fifth, and
Tanner Hraby scored on a passed ball in the sixth to extend the lead to 10-3.
Entering the eighth inning, UWRF held a six-run lead before Stout erupted for six runs to tie the game. Cage Kavanagh capped the rally with a game-tying grand slam to make it 10-10.
The scare was short-lived, as the Falcons answered with five runs in the bottom of the eighth. RBI hits from
Andrew Athmann, Kibler, and Wagner put UWRF back in front for good.
Shaun Gavin closed it out with a scoreless ninth.
The top four hitters in the Falcons' lineup combined for six hits, six RBIs, and six runs scored, pacing the 15-run effort.
Cole Scheel started on the mound and turned in his longest outing of the season, going 4.2 innings with nine strikeouts. Entering the game, Scheel had just 10 strikeouts on the season. UWRF pitching combined for 14 strikeouts in the game, the team's second-highest total of the year.
