Menomonie, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse baseball team earned a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) doubleheader sweep over UW-Stout Tuesday afternoon at Nelson Field. The Eagles won the opener, 6-0, and the nightcap, 14-6. UWL improves to 14-8 overall and 7-7 in the WIAC while UW-Stout drops to 10-10 overall and 7-7 in the conference.

Zach Pronschinske (3-2) earned the complete-game shutout in the opener, going 9.0 innings, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out a season-high nine. He also hit two batters. Pronschinske did not allow a hit until Hunter Merrill lead-off the bottom of the fifth with a single. It is Pronschinske's fifth career complete-game. He is the first UWL pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout since Connor Cook's 7.0 inning no-hitter in 10-0 victory at Concordia University Chicago (Ill.) on April 18, 2019. Pronschinske's 9.0 inning complete-game shutout is the Eagles' first since Jack Mizgalski accomplished the feat in a 7-0 win over Illinois Tech University on April 8, 2018.  

UWL took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth in Tuesday's opener. Parker Plume walked with one out and advanced to second on a ground out. Jonathan Wizner followed with a two-out single to score Plume with the first run of the game. Wizner then stole second and scored on Zach Carney's RBI double. The Eagles made it 3-0 in the seventh as Plume came in on Wizner's single. Shane Coker's sacrifice fly scored Mac Born with an unearned run in the top of the eighth. UWL added two runs in the ninth on a pair of RBI ground out from Brennan Schmitt and Born.

UWL totaled eight hits as Wizner finished 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. Carney finished 2-for-4 with an RBI while Plume scored twice.

James Palmer (4-2) suffered the loss for UW-Stout in the opener. He went 7.0 innings, allowing six hits, three run and four walks with four strikeouts. Four different players had a hit for the Blue Devils. 

In the second game, UWL took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second. Brenna Schmitt singled to start the inning and went to third after Coker reached on a UW-Stout error. Ethan Gerstner then knocked in both runners with a two-run double for the first runs of the game. Gerstner advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Plume's two-out RBI single to make it 3-0.

UW-Stout cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of runs. Merrill scored on Colin Hageman's sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 2-1 and Paul Weise singled home Riley Boushack to make it a one-run game. The Blue Devils tied the game in the fourth as Hageman scored on a Alex Jinkins' sacrifice fly. 

The Eagles regained the lead in the fifth. Connor Roesler's solo home run gave UWL a 4-3 lead. Wizner followed with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Zach Carney walked, Brennan Schmitt delivered a two-run single scoring Wizner and Carney. UW-Stout got one of the runs back in the bottom of fifth when Joel Thimsen scored on a Merrill single. The Blue Devils' first three hitters reached base in the inning, but Mizgalski retired the next three batters as UW-Stout left two runners on base.

UWL took a 7-4 lead with a run in the sixth without the benefit of a hit. Gerstner walked, advanced to second on wild pitch, stole third and then scored on another UW-Stout wild pitch. The Eagles made it 13-4 with six runs in the seventh. Carney singled to start the inning, stole second and went to third on a balk. Schmitt's double scored Carney to make it 8-4. Born hit the next pitch for an RBI single to knock in Schmitt and Coker greeted relief pitcher Bret Lecheler with a run-scoring double to score Born for a 10-4 advantage. Gerstner followed with a double and Andrew Rajkovich walked to load the bases. Colton Schraepfer came in as a pinch-runner for Rajkovich. Plume's two-run single scored Coker and Gerstner for a 12-4 lead and Schraepfer later scored on a wild pitch to make it a nine-run game. 

UW-Stout scored twice in the bottom of the seventh on RBI singles from Kasey Bass and Merrill.  UWL finished the scoring with a run in the eighth with Schmitt scoring on Born's ground out.

Mizgalski (3-1) earned the win in the second game, pitching 5.0 innings, allowing six hits, four runs and four walks with five strikeouts. The Eagles recorded 15 hits as Schmitt finished 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBI. Plume went 3-for-5 with three RBI. Coker went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI while Gerstner finished 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBI. Born finished with two RBI and Carney scored twice. 

Jace Baumann (0-2) suffered the loss for UW-Stout, going 5.0 innings, allowing six hits, six runs (four earned) and two walks while striking out three. The Blue Devils had 10 hits with Merrill finishing 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored.

UWL returns to action Friday, April 23 hosting UW-Stout in a WIAC doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. at Copeland Park.