KIRKSVILLE, Mo. -- Junior
Troy Bittenbender hit a game-winning two-run homer in the seventh inning and
Max Widmar pitched six scoreless innings in relief as Wisconsin-Parkside rallied to defeat Truman State 6-5 in game two of a doubleheader to complete a sweep of the Bulldogs on Sunday at the Truman State Baseball Park.
Wisconsin-Parkside, which improved to 5-3 on the season, won the opener 5-2 behind the pitching of
Nicholas Rana and
Nate Stolte.
The Rangers trailed 5-0 after two innings of game two before beginning their comeback in the top of the fourth inning.
Nick Janssen hit a one-out triple and Widmar brought home Janssen with an RBI groundout to cut the lead to 5-1.
Wisconsin-Parkside would climb to within a run of the lead by scoring three times in the top of the sixth inning.
Jake Kolasinski singled to center to lead off the inning and advanced to second when Janssen followed with a walk. Widmar ripped a double to right to bring home Kolasinski and cut the Bulldogs lead to 5-2.
With one out,
Bryan Wade laid down a safety squeeze bunt which scored Janssen to bring the Rangers to within 5-3.
Wisconsin-Parkside capped the inning when
Andrew Luscomb singled to left to score Widmar and cut the lead to 5-4.
With two outs in the top of the seventh inning, the Rangers began their game-winning rally. Widmar singled up the middle and Bittenbender followed with a homer to right giving Wisconsin-Parkside a 6-5 lead.
The Rangers then turned the rest of the game over to Widmar who was brilliant. Widmar retired nine of the final 10 batters of the game to seal the victory and notch his first victory of the season. He went 6.0 innings and permitted just an eighth-inning single while striking out five batters.
Bittenbender finished the game 2-for4 with two RBI and a run scored, while Widmar was 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Janssen recorded two hits and scored two runs for the Rangers, while
Kyle Schulz,
Kyohei Makita, Kolasinski and Luscomb each had one hit.
Wisconsin-Parkside opened the day with a 5-2 victory over the Bulldogs as Rana picked up the win and Stolte earned his first save of the season. Rana allowed two runs and struck out three batters in 5.2 innings, while Stolte pitched a perfect 1.1 innings in relief.
Trent Muscat had a pair of hits to lead the Ranger offense, while Makita, Kolasinski, Janssen and Bittenbender each drove in runs.
Wisconsin-Parkside also rallied for the victory in game one after falling behind 2-0 after two innings.
The Rangers cut the lead in half in the top of the fourth inning by scoring a run. Makita led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by
Zach Thompson. Kolasinski then delivered an RBI double that scored Makita and brought the Rangers to within 2-1.
Schulz kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning with a pair of defensive plays. With runners on second and third and nobody out, Jason Priest hit a ball to center that Schulz caught and then fired home to cut down Dave Gambino who tried to score from third. Chris Iliopoulos followed with a single to center, but Schulz gunned down Charlie Kreh at the plate to end the inning.
Wisconsin-Parkside took the lead for good with two runs in the top of the sixth inning. Makita walked to lead off the inning and advanced to second when Kolasinski also drew a walk. Janssen tied the game at 2-2 when he singled to left bringing home Makita.
The Rangers took a 3-2 lead when Bittenbender doubled later in the inning to score Kolasinski.
Wisconsin-Parkside added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning when Wade scored on a throwing error and Makita hit a sacrifice fly to right.
The Rangers return to action on Saturday (March 11) when they open a four-game series at Maryville with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.
