“Growing up as a big Brewers fan, it’s pretty special.”
The words of Thomas Otto were representative of the experience for both rosters as Milwaukee defeated MSOE 13-5 on Wednesday at American Family Field. The contest was the 32nd game ever for the Panthers at the Brewers’ ballpark, formerly called Miller Park.
The game was a highlight of the season for players with both the Panthers and Raiders.
“Just sitting down on the bench, realizing you get to watch your favorite players play here,” said Otto on his favorite part of the game. “That was cool.”
The guys from the Milwaukee School of Engineering cherished the opportunity to face Division I competition on a big stage.
“It’s just surreal playing in an MLB stadium where your hometown heroes are playing every day,” said sophomore third baseman Sam Meidenbauer. “You get to live their life for one day.”
The Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third, but MSOE responded by tying it up in the top half of the fourth. The Panthers answered with five runs the following half-inning to take an 8-3 lead.
They would then cruise to a 12-4 lead by the end of the sixth inning, riding home runs from Zach Lane and Q Phillips. The lead would prove insurmountable, as both teams would go on to get one more run, with the Panthers taking the 13-5 victory. Panther’s starter Riley Peterson earned the win, making him 2-1 on the season.
The Raiders dropped to 17-10 in the loss, their only Division I contest on their slate.
“At the higher level,” began Meidenbauer. “You get to see how competitive they [the Panthers] are.”
While Panther head coach and UW-Milwaukee alumnus Shaun Wegner has spent many games in the American Family Field dugout, he enjoyed the first as head coach. Wegner joined the Panther coaching staff in 2017, spending time first as assistant before being promoted to associate head coach.
Wegner was glad his team had the opportunity to play at American Family Field, but was unfazed by the big lights of the field saying,
“This place is a place that you dream about playing,” says Wegner. “[But] once that first pitch is thrown, it’s just a baseball game.”
Milwaukee improved to a measly 8-25 with the win, but 17 games remain for the Panthers to right the ship. A non-conference road matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes is next on the slate for the black-and-gold as they look to make it seven wins in their last 10 games.