RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The UW-River Falls baseball team closed the regular season with a WIAC doubleheader split against UW-Eau Claire on Saturday afternoon at First National Bank of River Falls Field to clinch a spot in the WIAC tournament.
The Falcons clinched a spot in the WIAC Tournament for the first time in program history, as the conference postseason format was introduced in 1998. They open tournament play on Thursday, May 7 against No.1-Seed UW-Whitewater.
UW-River Falls 21, UW-Eau Claire 9 (7 inn.)
UWRF's offense had a record-breaking performance in game one to help clinch its spot in the WIAC tournament.
The Blugolds started the day hot, pushing across three runs on five hits in the first inning.
The Falcons bounced back in their half of the inning.
Ryan Eckerle drove in two runs with a single, and
Andrew Athmann hit a three-run home run to give the Falcons a 5-3 lead.
After taking the lead, River Falls never looked back, scoring four more runs in the second.
Max Krebs,
Carter Klein, Eckerle, and Athmann all recorded triples in the inning to fuel the rally.
Tanner Hraby hit a two-run blast in the third, and
Joe Riley drove in two more with a single later in the inning, helping the Falcons add five more runs to their lead.
UWRF put up crooked numbers in each of the first five innings, powering a 21-run performance. Their 21 runs and five triples were new era single-game records.
Isaac Mens closed the door for the Falcons, throwing the final 3.1 innings. He struck out five and allowed just one run on one hit to earn the win.
Krebs, Athmann, and Eckerle each had three hits and combined for six extra-base hits, 12 RBIs, and seven runs scored. Athmann became just the second Falcon this season to record a six-RBI game.
UW-Eau Claire 20, UW-River Falls 11
The Blugolds overmatched the Falcons in a slugfest in game two, solidifying River Falls as the No. 4 seed for the conference tournament.
UWEC jumped out to a 10-0 lead after the second inning, tallying 11 hits in the first two frames to build the advantage.
UW-River Falls began to claw back with five runs in the bottom of the second. Joe Riley and Max Krebs each hit RBI doubles, contributing to the five-run, six-hit inning.
Riley singled home another run in the third before the Blugolds regained control. They scored seven runs across the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to extend the lead to 17-7.
The Falcons kept the game alive with a two-out rally in the seventh, stringing together three singles before a Krebs grand slam cut the deficit to six. That was all the momentum River Falls could muster, as it fell in game two and split the season series with Eau Claire.
Tanner Hraby paced the offense alongside Krebs and Riley, with all three recording at least three hits. Krebs finished 4-for-4 with a double, a home run, five RBIs, and three runs scored, capping off a strong series at the plate.
