John Koenig

With the game tied in the top of the third inning and UW-Eau Claire runners on second and third with no outs, junior third base coach Jess Bauer called for one of the most exciting plays in baseball – the suicide squeeze.

As the pitcher began his delivery, senior leadoff hitter Andrew Campbell sprinted toward home where senior Justin Musil squared up for a bunt on a high fastball.

“It’s an unusual call,” shortstop Musil said, “but it paid off and got us warmed up a little bit.”

The executed play opened the floodgates to a three-run third inning, five-run fourth inning and four-run fifth inning for the Blugolds. The ‘Golds came out victorious in just five innings of play in their first game in a three-game series against UW-Milwaukee, 12-2.

“Our squeeze was the turnaround,” senior and coach Andy Minga said. “We got hungry after that,” he said adding that hitting was the key component to their success Saturday night at Carson Park. Minga earned the first win of the weekend with six strikeouts, an earned a run and two walks on Milwaukee’s six hits in five innings.

The Blugolds continued their success offensively in the second two games notching nine runs against Milwaukee’s three in both games.

“When you get runs right away it lifts the tension right off your shoulders,” junior southpaw Matt Olson said.

Olson, the ace on the Blugold rotation, started and finished the second game with six strikeouts, seven walks and three earned runs on Milwaukee’s five hits.

A solo home run by Panther shortstop Matt Cicciarelli in the fifth put Milwaukee on the board. In the sixth, Milwaukee tacked on two more runs, but failed to rally in Olson’s 115-pitch complete game win.

In the third game, sophomore pitcher Mike Borgertpoepping found trouble early walking two of the first three Milwaukee batters.

However, the bottom of the first inning yielded five runs on three walks, an error and three hits including a three-run bomb to left-center field by Musil.

“I was a bit nervous coming in,” Borgertpoepping said, “but early run support let me settle in.” Borgertpoepping notched the win with four strikeouts, three walks, one earned run and four hits in six innings.

Sophomore pitcher Alex Kensgaard earned a save with two walks, three strikeouts, three hits and one earned run in three innings of work.

Minga, Musil and junior Pete Storm combined for seven hits, five runs, seven RBIs and a walk Sunday afternoon in the third win of the series.

“Everyone stepped up throughout the lineup,” third baseman Storm said. “And not just hitting, but clutch hitting.” Storm went 6-for-9 in the series tacking on eight runs, three RBIs, two doubles, a triple and two walks.

Other notable hitters from the series include Musil, Campbell and Minga. Musil went 6-for-11 with five runs, seven RBIs, a pair of doubles and a home run. Campbell went 3-for-7 in the series with six runs scored, two walks, an RBI, a double and a stolen base. Minga went 5-for-10 tacking on two runs, three RBIs, a pair of doubles and two walks.

The Blugolds piled on 31 hits and five errors compared to the Panthers’ 18 hits and nine errors in the series.

The Blugolds look to continue their winning streak at Carson Park Thursday and Friday against Marquette. With the weekend wins, the Blugolds advance their record to 4-3 overall and 4-1 in conference.

“We definitely can beat anybody,” Olson said, “on any given day.”