STEVENS POINT, Wis (UWSP-WSAU) — The No. 12 UW-Stevens Point baseball team (37-8) won the regional title with a sweep of No. 18 North Central (35-14) and Sunday’s offensive output reached some historic heights. UWSP won game one 27-3 tying the school record for runs in a game and in an inning in the process. The Pointers then broke a late 8-8 tie in a big way taking the finale, 21-8. The 27 runs in game one tied a school mark set in 1977 and 2005. In the game one win, UWSP put up 14 runs in the eighth inning matching a feat achieved by the Pointers in 1999 and 2002.
Senior Lucas Luedtke (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) had quite a day with five hits in each game. In game two, he clubbed a pair of three-run home runs and total 10 RBI on the day.
Fellow senior Payton Nelson (Wausau, Wis./West) set the all-time UWSP record for doubles with his 50th career two-bagger in game two, the only extra-base hit on the day for the Pointers that wasn’t a home run. He had five hits on the day including a home run in each game.
Senior Aaron Simmons (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) also became the first UWSP hitter with 20 home runs in a season by extending the single-season mark he set on Saturday. He had six hits on the day.
In game one, the Pointers hit eight home runs. Including five in the eighth inning, to tie an NCAA Tournament single-game record. Kyle Finger (Clintonville, Wis./Clintonville) homered twice in the eighth after entering as a pinch hitter in the frame.
Remarkable despite the massive onslaught of runs, the Pointers trailing in both games giving UWSP 18 come-from-behind wins on the season.
Game 1 – UWSP 27, NCC 3
The Cardinals hit solo home runs in the first and the second innings for a 2-0 lead. The Pointers tied the game on a two-run single by Luedtke in the third.
UWSP took the lead in the fourth on a solo home run by Jakob Boos (Littleton, Colo./Heritage). In the fifth, Luedtke drove in another run for a 4-2 lead.
NCC got a run back in the fifth and UWSP head coach Nat Richter was ejected on the play. The Pointers offense more than covered from his absence in the dugout.
The Pointers scored four in the sixth with Anthony Tomczak (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) driving in two and Quin Henwood (Appleton, Wis./North) another for an 8-3 lead.
In the seventh, Bradley Comer (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) hit a two-run homer and Henwood blasted a three-run shot as the lead grew to 13-3.
In the record-tying eighth inning, Simmons drove in the first run on a single. Nelson followed with a three-run home run. Finger drove in two with a long ball and Logan Matson (Neillsville, Wis./Neillsville) walloped a grand slam as UWSP posted 10 runs before the first out was recorded. Finger hit a three-run home runs and pinch hitter Brenden Canterbury (Waupaca, Wis./Waupaca) belted a solo shot to complete the 14-run inning.
Marcus Jaworski (Iola, Wis./Iola-Scandinavia) earned the win with 5.0 solid frames in the start. He struck out five. Sidney Ferry (Paw Paw, Mich./Homeschooled) fanned three in 2.0 of relief and Jacob Meinholz (Middleton, Wis./Middleton) struck out two in the final 2.0.
Game 2 – UWSP 21, NCC 8
The Pointers fell into a 2-0 hole in the top of the first as the Cards got a pair of runs on three hits. UWSP responded in the bottom of the first with a pair of hits, but scored five runs. Tomczak pushed home two with a single and Lucas drilled a three-run home run.
Simmons led off the second inning with a solo home run. In the fourth, Boos plated two runs with a single as UWSP took an 8-2 lead.
North Central got a run back in the fifth and tied the game with five in the 6th as the game stayed knotted at 8-8 until the bottom of the seventh.
Simmons drove in the go-ahead run with a single. Nelson doubled to push home another run. A third scored on a wild pitch. Then Luedtke belted his second three-run home run of the game as UWSP went in front, 14-8.
In the eighth, the first run crossed as Finger was hit by a pitch, the ninth of the game for a UWSP hitter, with the bases loaded. Luedtke drove in a run on a groundout, his career-high seventh of the game. Boos, Matson, Matt Baumann (New Berlin, Wis./Eisenhower), Simmons and Nelson each drove in a run in succession as the Pointers pushed the lead to 21-8.
Nick Paulsen (Balsam Lake, Wis./Unity) struck out three in 4.1 in the start. Austin Syvertson (Randolph, Wis./Randolph) earned the win with two strikeouts in 1.2 frames of relief. Ferry tossed the final 2.0 and fanned three.
The Pointers advance to the Super Regionals, a best-of-three series, against league rival UW-Whitewater. Game one will be Friday (May 27) beginning at 12:00 p.m. The location of the series will be announced by the NCAA on Monday.
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