Six games into Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play, UW-Eau Claire baseball has already surpassed their conference win total from the 2025 season.
On Monday, April 6, the Blugolds traveled to Menomonie, WI for a doubleheader versus the UW-Stout Blue Devils. The last time the two teams faced each other was April 5-6 2025, when the Blugolds lost all four games of the season series and allowed 59 runs.
In preparing for their doubleheader, second-year outfielder Austin Curti said the scores of last year’s games versus the Blue Devils were written on a whiteboard for every practice leading up to the games.
In the first game, the Blugolds faced Blue Devil starting pitcher Luke Carrier, who came into his start having thrown eight straight scoreless innings. On Carrier’s first pitch of the game, fourth-year infielder Austin Buck doubled to right center.
Following Buck in the lineup, second-year infielder Logan Hesselman hit a double of his own, scoring Buck and giving the Blugolds a 1-0 lead.
After five innings, the score remained 1-0. Third-year pitcher Nicholas Mueser through five innings and struck out five batters while allowing one hit and one walk. His first run allowed came in the bottom of the sixth inning off a RBI double to tie the score 1-1.
Following the Blue Devils’ score, the Blugolds plated 10 batters in the top of the seventh inning, scoring four runs on four hits. The Blugolds scored the fourth and fifth runs on two hits, with Curti’s RBI double representing his third hit of the game.
Curti, who hit sixth in the lineup, said it makes him feel better when the hitters in front of him in the order get on base and get the rally going.
“Huge shoutout to all the guys in front of me, even the guys after me,” Curti said. “The bats have been very hot lately.”
The first five batters in the lineup before Curti went 9-24 with six RBIs. Up 7-3 entering the bottom of the ninth inning, fourth-year pitcher Sebastian De La Toba struck out three straight batters after walking the lead off man to secure the win.
Hesselman was a key contributor on offense for the Blugolds, driving in three runs off three hits. He has raised his batting average by 57 points from last year’s season after starting 36 games as a first-year athlete.
Head Coach Patrick Reilly said Hesselman has all the skills and mental makeup to contribute.
“We rolled the dice with him and obviously [are] starting to kind of see the fruits of the labor of his effort,” Reilly said.
Looking for a doubleheader sweep, a sacrifice fly on two strikes from fourth-year infielder Diego Caicedo gave the Blugolds a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The next four innings featured back-and-forth action with the Blue Devils taking a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning.
In the following inning, a pair of RBI singles from Buck and third-year infielder Carson Faust brought the score to 6-5 in favor of the Blugolds.
A pair of home runs and some clutch two out hitting resulted in a 11-5 Blugold lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. With six outs remaining on offense, the Blue Devils stormed back in the eighth inning by scoring three runs.
After recording three quick outs on offense in the top of the ninth, the Blugolds walked three batters, eventually allowing the tying run to score, which sent the game into extra innings.
In the top of the tenth inning, a walk by fourth-year infielder Cole Clausen with the bases loaded gave the Blugolds a 12-11 lead. Needing three outs on defense for the sweep, third-year pitcher Ben Dorantes in relief recorded three straight strikeouts after allowing a leadoff single.
With the 12-11 win, the Blugolds are 12-6 on the season and 5-1 in conference. This is the best start to the first six games of conference play for the Blugolds since the program was reinstated in 2021.
“Our guys know that the expectation [has] changed, and it’s going to change if we want to be a team that makes the conference tournament consistently,” Reilly said.
Benes can be reached at [email protected].
