Menomonie, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse baseball team split a non-conference doubleheader at UW-Stout on Saturday. The Eagles won the opener, 11-9, before the Blue Devils came back to take the nightcap, 18-8 in seven innings. UWL is now 16-10 overall while UW-Stout is 12-12. 

UWL took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first in the opener as Connor Roesler started the game with a lead-off home run. UW-Stout tied the game in the bottom of the second on Riley Boushack's lead-off home run. 

After the Eagles took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third on Zach Carney's RBI ground out, the Blue Devils scored five times in the bottom of the inning for a 6-2 lead. Hunter Merrill's single scored Charlie Szykowny to tie the game. Kasey Bass gave UW-Stout a 3-2 lead on an RBI double and the Blue Devils added three unearned runs for a 6-2 advantage. 

UWL cut it to 6-3 in the fifth with Roesler coming in on a Brennan Schmitt's fielder's choice. Mac Born's three-run home run in the top of the seventh tied the game for the Eagles. Carney doubled with two outs and Schmitt was intentionally walked setting up Born's game-tying home run. The Eagles took a 7-6 lead in the eighth with Parker Plume scoring on Ty Hamilton's single, but Bass hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning to give UW-Stout an 8-7 lead. Merrill was hit-by-pitch with one out and Bass homered with two outs.  

UWL rallied again in the ninth with four runs to take the lead. Carney reached on a UW-Stout error to start the inning and advanced to second on a passed ball. After a strikeout. Born was hit-by-pitch. Shane Coker followed with an RBI single to score Carney to tie the game, 8-8. Plume singled to load the bases. Jonathan Wizner, Colton Schraepfer and Roesler all drew bases-loaded walks to give UWL a 11-8 lead. UW-Stout cut the lead to 11-9 in the bottom of the ninth as Szykowny scored on an Alex Jinkins' sacrifice fly.

UWL finished with 12 hits in the opener as Carney, Coker and Hamilton each had two. Born had a team-high three RBI with Roesler, Carney, Born and Plume each scoring twice. Charlie Dandis (1-0) earned the victory, pitching 3.1 innings, allowing one hit, two runs and two walks with six strikeouts. Cooper Schnackenberg recorded the save, going 1.0 inning, allowing one unearned run and one walk while striking out two. 

UW-Stout finished with 10 hits as Bass went 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBI. Jace Baumann (0-3) suffered the loss for the Blue Devils, pitching 0.1 of an inning, allowing two hits, four runs (three earned) and one walk with ones strikeout.

UWL took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first in the nightcap on an Andrew Rajkovich single and two runs scoring on a Blue Devils' error. UW-Stout came right back in the bottom half of the inning with five runs, highlighted by a two-run double from Colin Hageman. The Blue Devils added seven runs in the second and five in the third for a 17-3 lead.  Hageman had a two-run single and Merrill a two-run double in the second while Merrill delivered another two-run single in the third.

UWL scored three runs in the fourth and one in the fifth. Logan Pye had a two-run double in the fourth for the Eagles and Jack Kelly an RBI single in the fifth. Jack Schirpke hit a solo home run for UW-Stout in the sixth while Jack Olver had an RBI double in the seventh for UWL.

UWL totaled 12 hits as Schmitt and Olver each went 3-for-4. Schmitt and Rajkovich each scored twice while Pye had two RBI. Michael Ellingsen (0-1) took the loss, pitching 1.0 inning, allowing six hits, nine runs and four walks while striking out one. 

UW-Stout finished with 15 hits. Merrill went 3-for-3 with four RBI while Hageman finished 3-for-5 with three runs and four RBI. Logan Hile (1-0) earned the victory, going 4.0 innings, allowing six hits, six runs (three earned) and one walk with four strikeouts. 

UWL hosts Finlandia University (Mich.) on Friday, April 30 at 1 p.m. for a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) doubleheader.