Wednesday’s match-up between the UW-Milwaukee Panthers and the Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders welcomed the Battle of Brew City to Franklin Field. Last season, the Division I Panthers won the Battle at American Family Field 17-10, and this season, they reclaimed their title with a 3-2 victory over the Division III Raiders.
The first four innings of Wednesday’s contest remained scoreless. Starting for the Panthers, Tyler Deleskiewicz allowed three walks in the first three innings.
“That first inning, I was a little jittery and a little fired up,” said Deleskiewicz. “Starting pitcher really isn’t my role too often.”
After a rocky start, Deleskiewicz “dialed in” and pitched two strikeouts in the fourth inning. Deleskiewicz’s four-inning scoreless stint marked his longest outing of the season.
Parker Bleck stepped in to pitch for the Panthers at the start of the fifth inning. A grounded out from teammate Robert Erickson allowed the Raiders’ Jake Franks to make the sprint home. The fifth inning ended with a 1-0 Raiders lead.
Following up with a 3-2-1 inning, Bleck started a strong push from the Panthers. On the third pitch from the Raiders’ Morgan Davis in the sixth, Caden Headlee singled off a hit to third base. Headlee stole second base off a foul ball hit from Tiege Lethert. Lethert shortly followed up with a 2 RBI homer to left center.
“It felt good,” Lethert answered about his home run. “It’s always good to get a swing on the ball.”
Wednesday’s home run marks Lethert’s third of the season, one short of his career-high with the Panthers. Lethert ended Wednesday’s contest 3-0 at bat.
Keagan Kaufmann took the mound for the Panthers at the top of the eighth. The Raiders earned three hits off Kauffman throughout the inning. AJ Le hit a flied-out ball to centerfield mid-way through the top half of the inning, allowing JJ Jackson to score the game-tying run. Riley Peterson stepped in for Kauffman and closed out with a strikeout on the Raiders’ Kyle Mayberry.
The Panthers’ closing pitcher, Logan Snow, stepped in for Peterson near the start of the final inning. Snow earned one strikeout on the mound, his sixteenth of the season.
Looking to break the tie in the bottom of the inning, the Panthers started strong with a single up the middle from Cade Palkowski. Palkowski advanced to second on a wild pitch. A walk for Tristan Ellis and an intentional walk for Tyler Bickers left bases loaded for the Panthers as Justin Hausser stepped to home plate. Palkowski scored the winning run of the 3-2 game after the inning’s third walk to Hausser.
Wednesday’s victory brings the Panthers to 16-27 for the season. With 12 games left, the Panthers are looking to secure a seed in the Horizon League Baseball Championship. Currently, Milwaukee is third in the Horizon League Conference standings.
The Panthers continue their homestand Friday, May 2, with a three-game series against the Northern Kentucky Norse. The Norse have a one-game lead on the Panthers in the Horizon League Conference standings. Milwaukee’s last homestand begins Friday, May 9, with a three-game series against Purdue Fort Wayne.