The UWM Baseball Miller Park Tradition Continues

Posted on by

The UW-Milwaukee baseball team had its annual home game at Miller Park this spring as they hosted Wright State. The team regularly has its home games at Henry Aaron Field in Glendale but has a joined a marketing deal with the Brewers to play one game at Miller Park every year. They have done so since 2002 and hold a 17-10 record there.

The game had everything you would want in a Major League ballpark. Great pitching, timely hitting, and fantastic defense. Watch over-the-top opinion superlatives. The Panthers jumped out to an early lead but fell behind in the top of the 4thinning. That did not last long as Designated Hitter Mike Ferri and Catcher Tyler Bordner each had a pair of solo home runs in the 4thinning for the Panthers to give them the lead. Wright State was  able to tie things up in the 6thinning and take the lead in the 10thinning and held on for the victory.

“It is a great tradition we have had with the Brewers,” Assistant AD Chris Zills said. “It is a great experience that our fans, players and coaches won’t forget.” There was also a tailgate for Panther boosters, parents, and fans inside of Miller Park prior to to the game as well.

“This was a fun day for our program, and I thought we swung the bats really well against their pitcher who I think will be a draft pick,” Head Coach Scott Doffek said. “I thought we gave away the game quite honestly with some mental errors.”

The team has come a long way in this season as it endured an unusual month of April weather that made them the last Division 1 Baseball team to have a home game. After playing a school record 34 straight games on the road, they are finishing their month of May with all home games including this one at Miller Park.

The team also had their ace starting pitcher in senior Austin Schulfer who was very solid for the Panthers. “Austin kept us in the game and pitched very well like he’s done all year,” Coach Doffek said.

For all of the people involved in the program, it was a great day despite the loss. Panther pride was on full effect as guys like Men’s Basketball coach Pat Baldwin were in attendance to watch the game as well as Green Bay Packers radio voice Wayne Larrivee.

For some, it was their watch spelling first time playing on a field like that. To be able to play a college game at a Major League ballpark was an incredible experience for the new guys. As for the returning players, it just does doesn’t get old.

“It hits me every time I walk onto the field in uniform here,” Elijah Goodman, Junior Pitcher said.  “As a kid growing up in Wisconsin going to Brewers games, you dream about playing on this field.”

The team is currently 22-25 and is still right in contention for a run in the conference tournament. “The overall morale of the team is still really high” Doffek said. We just have to limit the mental mistakes because we are as talented as anyone.

It has not been a conventional season by any means for the Panthers as they have had not only had a mix of new players, injuries and key losses from last year. They are still optimistic due to the hot hitting of their beginning of the order.  While sports writing can toe the line of opinion with strong, authoritative and analytic voice, I deleted a line of overt opinion that I felt goes too far and makes this sound like a press release.

“I think we could have had that game in control, but we made outs on the base paths that you can’t make, ” Doffek said. “We want to thank everyone who came out and supported us tonight. It was great to see and our guys fed off that during the game.” Doffek added.

This was a great test for the Panthers who are hoping to face these Raiders in the Horizon League Championship in the future.

“We know that we will have to face this team down the road if we want to accomplish our goal for the season,” Doffek said.

The team will play their final series of the season at Henry Aaron Field when they host Oakland for a 3 game series beginning on Thursday.