Milwaukee resumed conference play with a trip to Purdue Fort Wayne for a Friday doubleheader to kick off April. Initially scheduled as a three-day series, action was moved to a twin bill on Friday and a Sunday game that was ultimately rained out.
The Panthers sent Gavin Theis to the mound for Game 1, where he pitched a gem. Both teams were held at bay until the Panthers pounced for a pair of runs in the 5th on a Tyler Bickers two-run single. Milwaukee was able to add two more in the sixth on RBI knocks from Teige Lethert and Gabe Roessler to increase the lead to 4-0. The Mastodons did add one blemish to Theis’ fantastic day, scoring a run on a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. Theis worked seven innings, allowing just three hits, the single run, and striking out four. Milwaukee was able to add a few insurance runs in the ninth, with RBI singles from Thomas Otto and Cade Palkowski. Milwaukee took Game 1 with a 7-1.
Game 2 got underway after a brief break between games, with Aric Ehmke on the mound. Once again, offense was tough to come by in the early going. As in the first game, Milwaukee got scoring started for the game, this time in the third. Charlie Marion ripped an RBI single, and came around to score on a Caden Headlee two-RBI single that put Milwaukee up 3-0. Headlee scored a batter later when Justin Hausser ripped a triple to center for a 4-0 advantage. Roessler was able to score on a throwing error in the 4th, and later drove in a run in the ninth to put Milwaukee up 6-0. Purdue Fort Wayne did get a run on a Sage Adams single in the ninth, but it was too little too late. Ehmke was phenomenal for Milwaukee, pitching 7.1 scoreless innings, allowing just 1 hit and striking out 7. Riley Peterson came on to close out the game, allowing 2 hits and the 1 run, and struck out a batter as well.
Milwaukee broke from conference play for a Big Ten matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa got off to an early 1-0 lead on a sac fly off starter Mason Weckler, coming off the bat of Miles Risley. Risley added another RBI in the 3rd with a double, as part of a three-run inning for the Hawkeyes. Iowa managed another run on an RBI double in the 4th before a pair of home runs in the fifth, a solo shot from Blake Guerin and a three-run shot from Kellen Strohmeyer.
Facing a 9-0 deficit, Milwaukee finally got in the scoring column in the sixth with a Marion double. Hausser added another for the Panthers with an RBI sacrifice fly. Iowa got the two runs back in the bottom of the seventh, to take an 11-2 run lead. Milwaukee attempted a comeback, starting with a Tate Schmidt solo homer. Hausser hit a second sacrifice fly. John Hadley knocked in a run when he reached on an error, and Palkowski singled to scored another run for Milwaukee. Unfortunately that would be the end of the Panthers rally, falling 11-6 to Iowa.
The Panthers returned home to Franklin Field for a weekend set with the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. Gavin Theis was back on the mound for Milwaukee on Friday afternoon, and was phenomenal again. Theis tossed 8.2 innings of scoreless ball, sprinkling just six hits, and striking out 8. Offensively, Milwaukee jumped to an advantage in the second when Marion hit a solo home run, and later added on with a Lethert RBI double in the frame. The Panthers got a two-run shot from Headlee in the sixth, and tacked on another on a fielder’s choice in the seventh en route to a 5-0 shutout to start the weekend series.
In Saturday’s contest, Milwaukee did grab a lead in the 1st, with a Marion RBI single. Aric Ehmke got into trouble in the 3rd, loading the bases before Matthew McGann cleared the bases with a double. Taylor Tomlin added another Oakland run in the 5th. The Panthers did manage to chip into the lead with a Tyler Bickers solo home run in the bottom of the 5th. From there, Oakland took firm control, adding runs in the 6th, 7th, and 8th, building a 9-2 lead. The Panthers managed a rally in the eighth, when Schmidt walked in a run, followed by a Tyler Bickers RBI single. Marion grounded out to second but drove in another run when Roessler scored. Milwaukee was unable to add on any additional runs in the eighth and went into the 9th trailing 9-5. The Panthers added two more in a home run by Otto but were not able to overcome the deficit, falling to Oakland 9-7.
In the rubber match of the Oakland series, the Panthers went with Logan Schulfer to try to win the weekend series. Milwaukee gave him an early lead with a run home run from Marion. Oakland cut the lead in half in the top of the 2nd with Sam Griffith scoring on a wild pitch. The Golden Grizzlies grabbed the lead in the top of the 4th, starting with a passed ball and a ground ball, before getting a 2 run home run from McGann.
Milwaukee tied the game back up in the bottom of the 4th, when a Schmidt double scored a pair, and came around to score on a wild pitch. Oakland went back in front in the top of the 6th but it would be short lived, as the Milwaukee offense exploded in the bottom of the frame. Schmidt singled in a run, and scored on a 2 run home run by Q Phillips. Hausser tripled in Roessler, and came in to score on a Bickers single to grab a 10-6 lead. Oakland managed a run in the 7th but ran out of gas, as Milwaukee went on to win 10-7.
With the weekend in the books, the Panthers hold an 11-22 record overall, and 9-5 conference record, good for 2nd in the Horizon League. Milwaukee continues the homestand with a game Tuesday afternoon against former Horizon League foe UIC, before a weekend set against Youngstown State.
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