Stevens Point, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse baseball team split a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) doubleheader at UW-Stevens Point Sunday afternoon at University Field. The Eagles won the opener, 7-5, before the Pointers came back to win the nightcap, 7-6. UWL is now 5-7 overall and 3-1 in the WIAC while UW-Stevens Point is 9-7 overall and 1-3 in the conference. 

In the opener, UWL took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third with Carson Youngquist scoring on Brennan Schmitt's bases-loaded walk. The Eagles added to their lead with three runs in the fifth. Cal Tully came in on Jake McClellan's single to make it 2-0 while McClellan and Shane Coker each scored on wild pitches for a 4-0 lead. 

UW-Stevens Point responded in the bottom of the fifth with three runs to make it a one-run contest. Ryan Stanicek scored on a wild pitch for the Pointers' first run while Aaron Simmons had a sacrifice fly and Payton Nelson an RBI single. The Pointers tied the game in the sixth as Stanicek scored on Tommy Duddleston's single. 

Zach Carney scored on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh to give UWL a 5-4 lead, but Simmons hit a solo home run in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 5-5. UWL scored the eventual game-winning runs in the top of the ninth. Nate Heili singled with one out and advanced to third on Carney's double down the right field line. After a pitching change for UW-Stevens Point and a pop-out by UWL, Youngquist delivered a two-out two-run single to knock in Heili and Carney for a 7-5 lead. 

UWL finished with 11 hits in the opener with Heili, Mitch Sutton, Youngquist, Tully and McClellan each getting two. Caleb Willems (1-1) earned the victory, pitching 3.1 innings, allowing six hits and one run while striking out two. Jack Mizgalski went 5.2 innings, allowing six hits, four runs (two earned) and two walks with five strikeouts.  

UW-Stevens Point totaled 12 hits with Nelson finishing 3-for-4. Mitchel Neubauer (0-1) took the loss for the Pointers, going 2.1 innings, allowing three hits, three runs and two walks. Tristan Brewer started, pitching 3.0 innings, allowing three hits, one run and four walks with two strikeouts. UW-Stevens Point walked 10 batters and had four hit-by-pitches. 

In the nightcap, Bradley Comer's RBI single in the bottom of the first provided UW-Stevens Point with a 1-0 lead. Youngquist tied the game in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly to score Heili. The Pointers took a 4-1 lead in the third on Simmons' two-run triple and Comer's RBI infield single. 

Jack Dwyer's solo home run for UWL in the top of the fourth cut the deficit to 4-2, but Simmons' two-run home run in the bottom half of fourth gave UW-Stevens Point a 6-2 advantage. The Eagles cut the lead to 6-4 in the fifth on Schmitt's RBI double and Coker's RBI groundout, but Nelson's run-scoring single in the bottom half of the inning for the Pointers made it 7-4. 

McClellan's single in the seventh scored Youngquist to cut the lead to 7-5 and Dwyer's sacrifice fly knocked in Tully to make it a one-run game, but the Eagles left two runners on base to end the seventh. 

UWL totaled 14 hits in the nightcap with Sutton finishing 3-for-5 with a run scored and Youngquist 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Heili and Carney each had two hits while Dwyer finished with two RBI. Garrett McGraw (0-3) took the loss for the Eagles, pitching 3.2 innings, allowing seven hits, six runs and two walks with four strikeouts. Zach Pronschinske went 4.1 innings, allowing three hits, one run and one walk while striking out eight. 

UW-Stevens Point finished with 10 hits as Simmons went 3-for-4 with two runs and four RBI. Zach Haupt (2-0) earned the victory for the Pointers, going 5.0 innings, allowing 10 hits, four runs and one walk with six strikeouts. Mack Blashka picked up the his first save, pitching 2.2 innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three. 

UWL returns to action Thursday, April 4 hosting the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) in a doubleheader starting at 2:30 p.m. at Copeland Park.