FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill Boppre, Sports Media Assistant

SOMERS, Wis. (Feb. 13, 2016)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside baseball squad was clicking on all cylinders as they swept Great Lakes Valley Conference rival McKendree University, winning 12-4 and 8-0 at Oberbruner Field.
 
It was apparent early on that the strong winds blowing in from left field would be a factor during the day.  In the opening game, the Rangers (11-30, 6-18 GLVC) were the first team on the board after Troy Bittenbender hit a triple to the gap in right center, scoring Jake Kolasinski from second.  Bittenbender scored a run as well with assistance of a Juan Bowers RBI single.  The Bearcats (14-33, 6-20 GLVC) tied the game by putting up one run in the third and fourth innings.  In the bottom of the fourth, with one run already in, Nick Janssen came up to bat with the bases loaded.  Janssen hit a bullet through the right side of the infield, driving home two runs, but he was thrown out trying to reach second on the play.
 
Parkside was up 5-2 going into the bottom half of the sixth inning.  The Rangers loaded the bases with nobody out and scored the next two runs advancing runners one base at a time.  With the bases still loaded and leading 7-2, Zach Thompson hit a bases clearing double down the left field line.  Jacob Pagan hit another double later in the inning scoring Thompson and extending the Ranger lead to 11-2.  The Green and White scored an additional insurance run in the seventh inning.
 
McKendree did not give up on the game trailing by ten runs.  The Bearcats took two runs back in the eighth inning, but Riley Phillips (1-1) was able to close out the game for the win.  Phillips earned the nine inning complete game win and did not give up any walks during the game.
 
The afternoon matinee started off as a pitchers dual, and after three and one half innings there was only a combined five hits in the game.  In the Rangers half of the fourth, with runners on second and third, Nick Janssen hit a two RBI single to right field, and giving Parkside the 2-0 edge in the previously scoreless game. 
 
In the bottom of the sixth, with runners on first and second, McKendree walked the next two Parkside batters to load the bases and scoring one run.  With the winds finally calming late in the second game, Zach Thompson hit a double to left field, and drove in two more runs.  With two runners still on base, Kyohei Makita sent a 1-0 pitch deep to right for a three-run home run.  Mario Samuel (2-4) finished out the seven inning complete game shutout, giving up only five hits, striking out three, and walking one.
 
The Rangers and Bearcats play their final games of the season as they close out the series with a doubleheader on Sunday with the first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.  The team will also take time to honor their graduating seniors during a pre-game ceremony.