For the Gazette
STEVENS POINT – The UW-Stevens Point baseball team (6-2, 2-0) swept visiting UW-Stout (3-5, 0-2) to open league play on April 1. UWSP improved to 6-0 to begin the home slate, the best start at home since 2016. The Pointers took game one in seven innings by a 12-2 final before securing the sweep with a 5-1 victory in game two.
Aaron Simmons (Franklin) racked up two hits in each game to extend his hitting streak to six games. During the streak, he has posted multiple hits in five of those games. He scored four runs on the day and drove in one.
Bradley Comer (Rhinelander) belted his second home run of the year, one of four hits on the day. He had three RBI and three runs scored. Tommy Duddleston (Chicago, IL) and Payton Nelson (Wausau) hit safely in both games, totaling three hits apiece on the day. Nelson had three runs batted in and two runs scored. Duddleston drove in two and scored two.
Game 1 – UWSP 12, UW-Stout 2
Duddleston reached on a throwing error to start the first. Simmons followed with a walk. Nelson and Lucas Luedtke (River Falls) hit back-to-back doubles as UWSP jumped ahead 3-0. After a Comer single, another run came home on a groundout.
Simmons began the third with a single. Nelson drew a walk and, two batters later, Comer singled to plate another and make it 5-0.
Luedtke blasted a solo shot to center with one down in the fifth. Comer followed with a single and back-to-back walks by Quin Henwood (Appleton) and Matt Baumann (New Berlin) loaded the bases. Kyle Finger (Clintonville) ripped a double down the left field line to plate two and up the lead to 8-0.
The Blue Devils got on the board with two runs on just one hit and a pair of UWSP miscues in the sixth.
Simmons led off the sixth with a single and scored on a triple from Nelson. Two batters later, Nelson raced home on a groundout by Comer.
Stout looked to have posted two runs with two outs in the top of the seventh after a two-run home run. However, upon appeal, the lead runner missed home plate, ending the inning.
The Pointers walked-off the run-rule win in the bottom of the seventh. Baumann was hit by a pitch and Finger drew a walk. Both advanced on a sac bunt by Jakob Boos (Littleton, CO). Duddleston sent both runners home with a double to the left-center gap to close out the win.
Nick Carpenter (Lake Mills) earned his second win of the year with 5.2. He did not give up an earned run and struck out five. Austin Syvertson (Randolph) tossed the final 1.1.
Game 2 – UWSP 5, UW-Stout 1
JD Schultz (Stevens Point) went 6.0 with one hit allowed to start game two. His lone hit allowed was a lead of triple in the fourth that led to the Blue Devils’ only run of the game.
In the UWSP fifth, Duddleston ripped a single off the pitcher with one away. Simmons followed with a triple off the top of the right field wall to tie the game at 1-1. He scored to give the Pointers the lead on a sac fly by Nelson.
Comer led off the sixth with a solo home run to left-center. In the eighth, Comer was hit by a pitch to begin the frame. Brenden Canterbury (Waupaca) followed with a single and both runners moved up on a groundout. Consecutive singles by Jacob Lillge (Little Chute) and Connor Flanagan (Rolesville) each plated a run to cap the scoring.
Schultz struck out eight and picked up his second win of the year. Tyler Beyer (Wisconsin Rapids) tossed 2.0 frames with four strikeouts. Sidney Ferry (Paw Paw, MI) struck out two in 1.0 innings pitched.