- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,151,882
- Reaction score
- 59
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team jumped out to a jaw-dropping 10-0 lead on powerful Auburn in the first game of the NCAA baseball tournament on May 29, en route to a 13-8 victory over the No. 4-ranked overall team in the entire tournament at its home Plainsman Park in Auburn, Alabama.
The Panthers (26-31), playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010, recorded just their second tourney win in program history. It's the first time a top-four national seed has lost its first game in the NCAA tournament since No. 3 North Carolina in 2017 against Davidson.
Milwaukee churned out seven extra-base hits, including two three-run homers, with pitchers Gavin Theis and Riley Peterson doing enough to keep the Tigers from clawing all the way back.
It doesn't mean Auburn is eliminated, and the Panthers will still need two more wins to advance onward to the super regional, but it's a bold first step.
"It's a big one, there's no doubt about it," head coach Shaun Wegner said on the ESPN broadcast. "We talked after we were able to beat Wright State in the [Horizon] tournament how the job's not finished. A lot of people are going to say we've got house money, 'Go play free, you're not expected to win.' Yeah, all those things are true, but we're trying to build here is a belief and a system, and these guys have bought into it, and it's the start of something special here in Milwaukee."
Muskego High School alumnus Bradyn Horn launched a three-run homer over the 37-foot high wall in left to give the Panthers a 4-0 lead just five batters into the game, and Franklin High School's Charlie Marion hit a three-run shot over the wall in center to spot the Panthers their astonishing 10-0 lead. Milwaukee finished with 16 hits and six walks against eight Auburn pitchers, on its way to the most runs it has scored in an NCAA tournament game.
Five straight batters reached against Auburn top starter Jake Marciano with one out in the opening inning, including New Berlin West's Dominic Kibler with an RBI single, followed by Horn's three-run shot to make it 4-0 just five batters into the game.
Theis, from Lake Country Lutheran High School, retired the first six men he faced and didn't allow a run until his fourth and final inning. Peterson navigated the final five.
Marciano, meanwhile didn't make it through the second, allowing two more earned runs, including an RBI double by Christian Holmes. Auburn reliever LJ Cormier permitted a Grant Ross RBI single in the fourth and Marion's three-run blast just beyond the reach of center fielder Cade Belyeu, making it an astonishing 10-0.
"Jake Marciano is a heck of a pitcher, we just knew he was going to be in the zone so we had to attack early, and we put some good swings on balls and pout the pressure on them," Wegner said. "We just kept attacking, one at-bat after another ... and ultimately we were able to put it together and celebrate a victory here."
Auburn's Ethin Bingaman deployed his own three-run homer well beyond the left field wall to make it 10-3 in the fourth, but UWM answered that, too, with Joey Spence nearly leaving the yard and settling for an RBI double. Spence, from West Bend East, hit the walk-off homer that gave UWM a victory over Wright State for the Horizon League championship.
Peterson, a Verona High School alumnus, gave up two runs in the fifth but came up clutch in the bottom of the sixth, retiring Auburn 1-2-3 after a half-hour lightning delay. John Hadley VI, from Sun Prairie East, then added an RBI double in the seventh to make it 12-5, though the Tigers inched to within 12-7 in the seventh on Eric Guevara's two-out homer.
UWM added insurance with a bases-loaded walk in the ninth, and though the Tigers loaded the bases with one out against Peterson in the final frame, he induced a game-ending flyout from Fralick, with a tricky catch by center fielder Dylan O'Connell (Eau Claire Memorial).
The performance conjured UW-Milwaukee's only program win in the NCAA tournament, an equally stunning 8-4 victory over No. 1 overall seed Rice on May 28, 1999, nearly 27 years to the date of the win over Auburn. Former Brewers pitcher Jerry Augustine, then the head coach, called it "probably the biggest moment in school history" after Chad Sadowski pitched the Panthers to the win.
Wild as it was, the Panthers then lost to Texas Tech, 8-4, before getting eliminated from the Lubbock regional in the next game against Rice, 27-1. The Owls went on to the College World Series.
Auburn also lost its opening regional game at home in 2023 when it suffered a 6-3 setback against Penn in extra innings. The Quakers won their next game, too, while Auburn lost its next contest and got eliminated. Penn ultimately lost to Southern Miss twice and missed out on the regional title.
The 2026 Panthers must now wait to learn their next opponent, either Central Florida or North Carolina State, on track to meet next in Auburn if weather allows. UWM will play at 7 p.m. Saturday, while Auburn and the losing team will square off at 2 p.m.
If UWM wins again, it'll advance to the regional championship at 7 p.m. May 31, with a second game to be played June 1 if necessary. The regional winner moves on to next weekend's super regional, beginning June 5, a best-of-three series that the Panthers would play on the road if they advanced.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Milwaukee busts out the bats in NCAA Tournament stunner over Auburn
Continue reading...
The Panthers (26-31), playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010, recorded just their second tourney win in program history. It's the first time a top-four national seed has lost its first game in the NCAA tournament since No. 3 North Carolina in 2017 against Davidson.
Milwaukee churned out seven extra-base hits, including two three-run homers, with pitchers Gavin Theis and Riley Peterson doing enough to keep the Tigers from clawing all the way back.
It doesn't mean Auburn is eliminated, and the Panthers will still need two more wins to advance onward to the super regional, but it's a bold first step.
"It's a big one, there's no doubt about it," head coach Shaun Wegner said on the ESPN broadcast. "We talked after we were able to beat Wright State in the [Horizon] tournament how the job's not finished. A lot of people are going to say we've got house money, 'Go play free, you're not expected to win.' Yeah, all those things are true, but we're trying to build here is a belief and a system, and these guys have bought into it, and it's the start of something special here in Milwaukee."
Muskego High School alumnus Bradyn Horn launched a three-run homer over the 37-foot high wall in left to give the Panthers a 4-0 lead just five batters into the game, and Franklin High School's Charlie Marion hit a three-run shot over the wall in center to spot the Panthers their astonishing 10-0 lead. Milwaukee finished with 16 hits and six walks against eight Auburn pitchers, on its way to the most runs it has scored in an NCAA tournament game.
Five straight batters reached against Auburn top starter Jake Marciano with one out in the opening inning, including New Berlin West's Dominic Kibler with an RBI single, followed by Horn's three-run shot to make it 4-0 just five batters into the game.
You must be registered for see images attach
Theis, from Lake Country Lutheran High School, retired the first six men he faced and didn't allow a run until his fourth and final inning. Peterson navigated the final five.
Marciano, meanwhile didn't make it through the second, allowing two more earned runs, including an RBI double by Christian Holmes. Auburn reliever LJ Cormier permitted a Grant Ross RBI single in the fourth and Marion's three-run blast just beyond the reach of center fielder Cade Belyeu, making it an astonishing 10-0.
"Jake Marciano is a heck of a pitcher, we just knew he was going to be in the zone so we had to attack early, and we put some good swings on balls and pout the pressure on them," Wegner said. "We just kept attacking, one at-bat after another ... and ultimately we were able to put it together and celebrate a victory here."
Auburn's Ethin Bingaman deployed his own three-run homer well beyond the left field wall to make it 10-3 in the fourth, but UWM answered that, too, with Joey Spence nearly leaving the yard and settling for an RBI double. Spence, from West Bend East, hit the walk-off homer that gave UWM a victory over Wright State for the Horizon League championship.
Peterson, a Verona High School alumnus, gave up two runs in the fifth but came up clutch in the bottom of the sixth, retiring Auburn 1-2-3 after a half-hour lightning delay. John Hadley VI, from Sun Prairie East, then added an RBI double in the seventh to make it 12-5, though the Tigers inched to within 12-7 in the seventh on Eric Guevara's two-out homer.
UWM added insurance with a bases-loaded walk in the ninth, and though the Tigers loaded the bases with one out against Peterson in the final frame, he induced a game-ending flyout from Fralick, with a tricky catch by center fielder Dylan O'Connell (Eau Claire Memorial).
The performance conjured UW-Milwaukee's only program win in the NCAA tournament, an equally stunning 8-4 victory over No. 1 overall seed Rice on May 28, 1999, nearly 27 years to the date of the win over Auburn. Former Brewers pitcher Jerry Augustine, then the head coach, called it "probably the biggest moment in school history" after Chad Sadowski pitched the Panthers to the win.
Wild as it was, the Panthers then lost to Texas Tech, 8-4, before getting eliminated from the Lubbock regional in the next game against Rice, 27-1. The Owls went on to the College World Series.
Auburn also lost its opening regional game at home in 2023 when it suffered a 6-3 setback against Penn in extra innings. The Quakers won their next game, too, while Auburn lost its next contest and got eliminated. Penn ultimately lost to Southern Miss twice and missed out on the regional title.
The 2026 Panthers must now wait to learn their next opponent, either Central Florida or North Carolina State, on track to meet next in Auburn if weather allows. UWM will play at 7 p.m. Saturday, while Auburn and the losing team will square off at 2 p.m.
If UWM wins again, it'll advance to the regional championship at 7 p.m. May 31, with a second game to be played June 1 if necessary. The regional winner moves on to next weekend's super regional, beginning June 5, a best-of-three series that the Panthers would play on the road if they advanced.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Milwaukee busts out the bats in NCAA Tournament stunner over Auburn
Continue reading...
