Chippewa Valley Times

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire baseball team faced St. Mary's in a doubleheader on Friday in Winona, Minnesota. The Blugolds lost both games to the Cardinals, with the first game ending 5-4 and the second game concluding 4-3 after 10 innings.

In Game 1, St. Mary's took an early lead of 4-0 within the first two innings. The Blugolds began their comeback in the fifth inning when Diego Caicedo hit a two-RBI single, reducing the deficit to 4-2. However, St. Mary's added another run in the sixth inning, bringing their lead to 5-2. In the seventh inning, John DiGregorio and Austin Baker each contributed RBI singles for UW-Eau Claire, but they were unable to score again, leaving them one run short.

Drew Salyers managed two hits during Game 1, including a double.

During Game 2, UW-Eau Claire initially trailed by two runs after two innings but responded with an RBI double from DiGregorio in the fourth inning and later took a lead with Brayton Thillman's two-RBI single in the sixth inning. However, St. Mary's equalized at 3-3 in the bottom of that same inning and eventually secured victory with a walk-off single in the tenth inning.

Logan Hesselman stood out for UW-Eau Claire with three hits out of five attempts in Game 2. Cole Clausen also made contributions with two hits. Evan Fischer pitched six innings for UW-Eau Claire while Tapio Niemioja provided three scoreless innings as relief.

The Blugolds will next compete at the RussMatt Invitational in Davenport, Florida from March 19-22. Their opening game is against Fredonia on March 19 at 9 a.m Eastern time.

"Follow the Blugolds all season long at Blugolds.com or on our app, Blugold Sports," fans are encouraged via social media platforms Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.