Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Mauston, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse baseball team opened its Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) schedule with a doubleheader sweep of UW-Stout Tuesday afternoon at Woodside Sports Complex.  The Eagles won the opener, 16-6, and the nightcap, 7-3.  UW-L improves to 8-6 overall and 2-0 in the WIAC while UW-Stout drops to 8-5 overall and 0-2 in the conference.  The Blue Devils had their seven-game winning streak snapped in Tuesday's opener.

In the opener, UW-L took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning.  Alex Cordova opened the frame with a double and later scored on a two-out Nic Barnes single to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.  Josh Rowles followed with a two-run double knocking in Joel Zyhowski and Barnes.  UW-L added a pair of runs in the third inning for a 5-0 advantage as Bryce Barsness scored on a Travis Buxton-Verstegen double and Cordova came in on an RBI groundout by Zyhowski.

UW-Stout cut the lead to 5-3 with three runs in the bottom of the third. Charlie Pelzer had a two-out two-run double and Brett Vavra a two-out RBI single.  All three runs were unearned.

UW-L made it 10-3 with five runs in the fifth.  Zyhowski had a two-run double while Shane Adler had an RBI single and Barnes an RBI groundout.  Pelzer's sacrifice fly cut UW-L's lead to 10-4 in the bottom of the fifth for UW-Stout.  The Eagles got the run right back in the top of the sixth inning on Buxton-Verstegen single.

Taylor Kohlwey's two-run home run gave UW-L a 13-4 lead in the top of the seventh after Rowles singled with one out.  UW-Stout scored twice in the seventh to make it 13-6 on a Jared Francois double and Pelzer single.

The Eagles finished the scoring with three runs in the ninth on a two-run home run from Barsness while Cole Cefalu scored after a Blue Devils' error.

Ben Cejka (2-1) earned the win for UW-L, pitching 6.0 innings, allowing five hits, four runs (one earned) and three walks with two strikeouts.  Jameson Sadowske went 3.0 innings, allowing four hits, two runs and one walk while striking out one.

UW-L finished with 17 hits in the contest, including six players with at least two hits.  Cefalu went 3-for-6 with two runs scored while Buxton-Verstegen went 3-for-5 with two RBI, one run and one walk.  Barsness, Cordova, Barnes and Rowles each had two hits.  Barsness and Cordova each scored three runs.

Brent Mueller (3-1) suffered the loss for UW-Stout, going 4.1 innings, allowing six hits, nine runs (eight earned) and five walks with five strikeouts.  Pelzer went 2-for-3 with four RBI.  Ryan Freitag and Charlie Meyer each had two hits.

In the nightcap, UW-L took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.  Kohlwey doubled to start the game and scored on a Cefalu triple to make it 1-0.  Cefalu then scored on a passed ball.

UW-Stout cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the second as Meyer scored Pelzer's sacrifice fly. 

UW-L regained its two-run lead in the fourth inning with Barnes leading off with a double and scoring on a Rowles single.  UW-Stout cut the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth on Meyer's sacrifice fly to score Brady Burzynski.  Zyhowski scored an unearned run for the Eagles in the top of the seventh to make it 4-2 on Barnes' single.  UW-L added three runs in the eighth for a 7-2 advantage.  Barsness scored on Cordova's sacrifice fly and Zyhowski's two-out two-run double scored Cefalu and Buxton-Verstegen.

The Blue Devils finished the scoring in the eighth on a Francois solo home run.

Troy Kenkel (2-0) picked up the win for UW-L, pitching 5.0 innings in relief.  He allowed six hits, two runs (one earned) and one walk while striking out three.  Adler started for the Eagles, going 3.0 innings, allowing one hit, one run and two walks with one strikeout.  Travis Kruckow pitched 1.0 inning, allowing one hit and one walk with three strikeouts.

UW-L totaled 18 hits in the second game, including five players with at least two hits.  Kohlwey went 4-for-6 with a run scored while Zyhowski finished 4-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored.  Cefalu was 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI while Barsness and Barnes each had two hits.

Zach Carlson (2-2) took the loss for UW-Stout, going 7.0 innings.  He allowed 14 hits, four runs (two earned) and two walks with two strikeouts.  Burzynski went 3-for-5 with a run scored while Jake Lunow finished 2-for-4.

UW-L returns to action Saturday, April 5 at second-ranked UW-Stevens Point.  The first game is scheduled to start at noon.  UW-Stevens Point is ranked second on this week's American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division III Poll.