Sports
Baseball starts strong in Florida
The Pointer
jmath438@uwsp.edu
The University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point’s baseball team is off to a great start with an 8-2 overall record.
The Pointer’s season opener was played against St. Olaf College at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn. The Pointer’s went 1-1 against St. Olaf.
“I felt that we performed below our expectations up in the Metrodome, despite the fact that we got one win,” said Head Coach Pat Bloom. “I felt that offensively we didn’t execute our game plan which was to put pressure on the defense, put the ball into play.”
A solid pitching performance by the Pointers’ Garrett Nix and Jeff Zlelke and numerous errors by St. Olaf’s defense brought the Pointers to a 4-3 victory in the first game of the double-header.
The Pointers fell to a 6-2 loss in the second game.
The Pointers traveled to Winter Haven, Fla. for three double-headers against Fontbonne University, Greenville College and Washington and Jefferson College. The team also played single games against Ripon College and Rhodes College.
The team went 7-1 while in Florida, losing their final game 2-8 in a double-header against Washington and Jefferson College.
“I felt first and foremost we got good starting pitching and even better performances from our guys out of the bullpen,” said Bloom. “Our bullpen E[arned]R[un]A[verage] at the end of the Florida trip was phenomenal.”
Diverse offensive playing was a big part of the success of these games, said Bloom.
“The final game in Florida was not characteristic of the way we played up to that point,” said Bloom. “We played poorly defensively, we didn’t get great pitching and we completely shut down offensively.”
Fatigue from two extra-inning games earlier that day may have been part of the loss but the opponent was in the same position so it shouldn’t have reflected so significantly, according to Bloom.
The Pointers head to a double-header at St. Norbert’s College in De Pere, Wis., on Mar. 28.
“They perennially have been a tough match-up for us,” said Bloom. “It’s always tough to win over in De Pere. We expect to see their two best pitchers and for those two games to be hard-fought battles.”
