Horizon League Baseball Championship Game Ten: Milwaukee advances to tournament final

May 24, 2008

Box Score

Championship Central

NILES, Ohio - The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (24-35) defeated Valparaiso University (21-35) 8-3 to eliminate the Crusaders from the Horizon League Baseball Championship presented by the U.S. Army. With the win, Milwaukee will take on the University of Illinois at Chicago at 3:00 p.m. in the tournament final.

The Panthers advance to the championship final for the first time since 2005 and will face the Flames for the second straight day. UWM fell to UIC 7-5 on Friday.

If UIC defeats Milwaukee in its match up at 3:00 p.m., the Flames will earn a trip to NCAA regional and collect their second-consecutive tournament title. If Milwaukee defeats UIC, the two teams will meet on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.

UWM junior Brad Lusti collected the win and improved to 4-4 on the year. The Panther starter worked 6.0 innings, struck out three and allowed just two walks. Junior reliever Craig Meier came on in the seventh inning and limited the Crusaders to just one hit to pick up his second save of the season.

Valparaiso junior right-hander Alex Berry suffered the loss and finished the season with a 1-6 mark. Berry came on in relief in the second inning for starter Elliott Gibbs. Berry worked 4.2 innings and struck out four.

Senior Jesse Hart, junior Ben Long and freshman Doug Dekoning each drove in two runs apiece to pace the Panther offense. Long led the way with a team-high three hits.

Milwaukee outhit Valparaiso 14-11, which marked the 12th-consecutive contest that the Panthers have recorded 10 or more hits in game. UWM also was hit by a pitch on six different occasions to tie the school record.

Valparaiso took an early 1-0 lead in the top half of the first, but the Panthers responded with two runs in the bottom half of the frame to take a 2-1 advantage.

In the fourth, the Crusaders scored two runs thanks to a single up the middle by freshman Jon Gulbranson, which allowed freshman Andrew Quinnette and sophomore Josh Wallace to score from second and third, respectively.

Milwaukee tied the game in the fifth and then re-claimed the lead in the sixth with two runs. In the sixth, sophomore Wes Munson singled up the middle to start the frame and was driven in on Hart's 27th double of the season down the left field line. After senior Nick Wichser drew a four-pitch walk, freshman Cole Kraft came up next and with a single through the left side that plated Hart and made it 5-3.

In the seventh inning, the Panthers collected a single, a walk and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one out. Dekoning then came through with a double to left center that brought in both runners. After a hit batter, Dekoning scored on Hart's single through the left side to push UWM's advantage to five runs.

The 2008 Horizon League Baseball Championship is being held at Eastwood Field in Niles, Ohio. Single-day tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for senior citizens and youth, while all-tournament passes are $20 and $14, respectively. Students from all Horizon League institutions are free with a valid student identification card. Gates will open one hour prior to the first game each day.

For additional Horizon League baseball information, including the championship bracket, directions to Eastwood Field, GameTracker live statistics and game recaps, check out the official web site at www.horizonleague.org. For free, live video web casts of all games of the Horizon League Baseball Championship, log onto the Horizon League Network at www.horizonleaguenetwork.tv.