Saturday, April 05, 2003

Milwaukee, Wis. - Jeff Mandsager belted a two-run homer in the first game, but Valpo was swept in a doubleheader by Wisconsin-Milwaukee at the Milwaukee Brewers' Miller Park. Valpo (6-14-1) lost 8-4 in the first game and 6-0 in the nightcap.

In the first game, Mandsager gave the Crusaders a 2-0 lead in the first with his second roundtripper of the season that plated Sean Peickert, who had singled. UW-Milwaukee (10-9) tied the game with two runs in the second.

Valpo regained the lead in the fourth on an RBI single by Brandon Sadler, scoring Mandsager. The Panthers tied the game at 3-3 on Troy Doering's RBI single in the fourth.

Caleb Kimmel doubled to left in the fifth and scored on Eric Snyder's RBI single to give the Crusaders a 4-3 advantage. However, UW-Milwaukee rallied in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-4 lead on a sacrifice fly by Ben Stanczyk and a pinch-hit RBI double by Matt Alexander. The Panthers added three more runs in the sixth, two coming on Stanczyk's double to left. Stanczyk finished with four RBIs.

Marc Boggio (1-3) started on the mound, allowing five runs on four hits in 4 innings. The senior righthander struck out three and walked three. Kyle Cummings allowed one run in 1 1/3 innings and Jordan Smolar yielded two runs in two-thirds of an inning. Cory Kleeba (3-2) was the winner in relief, pitching scoreless and hitless ball in 2 2/3 innings. Geoff Lefeber started for UW-Milwaukee, hurling 4 1/3 innings. He allowed four runs on six hits, while fanning one and walking two.

The Crusaders finished with six hits and the Panthers tallied seven. Both teams played errorless baseball.

In the nightcap, UW-Milwaukee's Mikel Schaefer (2-1) pitched a complete-game, one-hitter. He struck out seven and walked three.

Sadler had Valpo's lone hit, a leadoff double in the fourth inning.

The Panthers, who benefited from three Crusader errors that led to three unearned runs, scored one in the second and two in the third. David Michna had three hits and two RBIs for UW-Milwaukee.

Todd Evans (1-3) suffered the loss, allowing two earned runs and seven hits in 5 innings. The senior fanned two and walked three. Adam Paetznick pitched the last inning for the Crusaders.

Valpo will host Northwestern on Tuesday at 3 p.m.