La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse baseball team opened Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play with a doubleheader split against UW-Stout Saturday afternoon at Copeland Park. The Eagles took the opener, 10-4, before the Blue Devils came back to win the nightcap, 17-4. 

UWL is now 7-3 overall 1-1 in the WIAC while UW-Stout is 8-2 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
 

UW-Stout took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first in the opener. Riley Boushack started the game with a lead-off home run and Jacoby Endreas later hit a two-run home run scoring Justin Sedin for a 3-0 lead. 

UWL quickly responded in the bottom of the inning. Jack Moran singled to lead-off the inning followed by a Jack Olver single. After a pair of outs, Anthony Vivian delivered a game-tying home run scoring Moran and Olver. The Eagles took a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the third. Vivian walked with two outs and went to third on Ty Hamilton's double. Chris VandenHeuvel followed with a two-run double give UWL its first lead of game. 

The Blue Devils cut it to 5-4 in the top of the sixth on Jack Schirpke's single knocking in Colin Hageman with an unearned run. 

UWL tacked onto its lead with five runs in the bottom of the eighth. Logan Pye walked and stole second followed a walk to Jordan Williams. Moran's bunt single loaded the bases with no outs. After a strikeout, Mac Born's double scored Pye and Williams to make it 7-4. George Seaman followed with an RBI single to knock in Moran and Born scored on a passed ball to extend the lead to 9-4. Vivian's infield single knocked in Seaman to finish the scoring.

Sawyer Phillips (1-0) earned the win, pitching 6.0 innings, allowing six hits, four runs (three earned) and one walk while striking out five. Mitchel Fassbender picked up his first save of the season, going 3.0 innings. He allowed one walk with three strikeouts.

UWL had 17 hits in the opener as all nine starters recorded at least one. Vivian went 3-for-3 with four RBI and two runs while Hamilton finished 3-for-5 with a run and Pye 3-for-4 with one run. Moran and Olver each had two hits. 
 

Quintin Gonzalez (1-2) suffered the loss for UW-Stout. He went 5.0 innings, allowing 10 hits, five runs and one walk while striking out two. The Blue Devils had six hits in the opener as Sedin finished 2-for-4 with a run. 

In the nightcap, UW-Stout scored first as it scored three runs on two hits in the fourth inning. Endreas led off with a single while Parker Hagebock walked. Nolan Harke then drove them both in with a three run home run to make it 3-0. Then in the sixth inning, the Blue Devils scored three more runs to make it 6-0. Harke drove in a run with a double while Levi Wilson drove in a run with a sacrifice bunt and Boushack added an RBI single. 

UW-Stout would add a run in the seventh inning to lead 7-0. UWL's Vivian hit his second home run of the day and fourth of season in the bottom half of the seventh inning to make it 7-1. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Eagles scored three runs on one hit and one error to cut their deficit to 7-4. With one out, UWL recorded four straight walks to score a run followed by Hamilton single to knock in two. However, UW-Stout would end UWL's threat with a strikeout. 

The Blue Devils scored 10 runs in the ninth inning including a solo home run by Sedin, two-run home runs from by Endreas and Jack Schirpke and three-run home run by Wilson to lead 17-4. 

UWL finished with five hits. Hamilton was 1-for-4 with two RBI while Vivian finsihed 1-for-4 with a home run. Owen Anderson (0-2) suffered the loss for the Eagles. In 5.0 innings of work, Anderson allowed five runs on five hits and two walks while striking out nine. 

Tucker Beving (1-0) earned the win on the mound for the Blue Devils, allowing three runs on four hits and four walks while striking out six in 7.1 innings of work. As a team, UW-Stout finished with 18 hits including four hits for Sedin and three each from Harke and Hagebock.  

The teams will play another doubleheader Sunday, March 26 at noon at Copeland Park.