Chippewa Valley Times

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire baseball team secured a decisive 18-8 victory over Framingham State in their final game at the RussMatt Invitational. The match, held at Lake Myrtle Park, saw senior Drew Salyers from Centennial, Colorado, tie the program record for hits in a single game.

Salyers' performance included going 5-for-5 with five RBIs and four runs scored. This achievement marked only the fourth time in UW-Eau Claire's history that a player has had five hits in one game. "His five-hit performance was the first by a Blugold since both John Jahnke and Corey Tauer had five hits on April 29, 1995."

The Blugolds initiated their lead early by scoring four runs in the first inning. They continued to extend their advantage with additional runs throughout subsequent innings, culminating in six runs during the fifth inning. Freshman Carter Vieth contributed two RBIs during this frame alongside Salyers' RBI double.

Austin Buck also made significant contributions with three hits, an RBI, and three runs scored while stealing two bases. Other notable performances came from Austin Curti and Carson Windeshausen, each securing two hits; Windeshausen drove in three runs.

On the mound, Cole Hinkel earned his first win of the season after pitching 1.1 scoreless innings. Aaron Skrypek started for UW-Eau Claire and pitched 4.2 innings with four strikeouts.

Looking ahead, UW-Eau Claire will begin their Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play against top-ranked UW-Whitewater on March 29-30.