PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The Heidelberg University baseball team had an offensive eruption in their first game of their spring trip to Florida, routing Nichols College 15-5. Clayton Wielinski hit a pair of home runs while Derek Hug went 5-for-6 to help lead the Berg to the win. The Student Princes pounded out 21 hits as they cruised to the victory.

With the game tied at one in the bottom of the second, Wielinski unloaded on an offering for his first career home run, a two-run blast to left field to give the Berg a 3-1 lead. The Student Princes tacked on three more in the inning as they opened up an early five-run advantage.

After a scoreless frame for the Bison (3-3) in the top of the third, Wielinski led off the bottom half of the third. It was a case of déjà vu, as the senior barreled up the ball yet again, this time drilling a line drive homer to left to extend the lead for HU to 7-1.

Heidelberg did not slow down offensively as the game wore on, as they scored three in the fourth, one in the fifth, three in the seventh, and one in the eighth to pull away for good.

Adam Manner (1-1) picked up his first win of the season on the mound, throwing six innings while allowing just two earned runs on nine hits with no walks, striking out five. Ben Sniezek and Josh Beacorn combined to throw the final three innings of the game.

Hug paced the Berg with his game-high five hits, including two doubles. He drove in three while scoring five runs and also stealing three bases to round out his solid afternoon.

Wielinski's two homers were the first of his career as he finished the game with three runs driven in.

T.J. Harkness, Hug, Parker Fronk, Adam Hershberger, Evan Long, Wielinski, and Kyle Slovick all had multi-hit games for the potent Student Princes offense.

QUOTES

Head coach Chad Fitzgerald on the offensive outburst: "I think we had some guys who just didn't try to do too much. They did what they're capable of and had a good approach at the plate and started finding some barrels."

Fitgerald on Wielinski's breakout game: "He puts a lot of pressure on himself and it was great to see him go out there, be relaxed, and put a good swing on it. We're glad he was able to be quick with the barrel and hit it hard today."

Fitzgerald on Hug's five-hit performance: "With the wind howling out to left field, he wasn't trying to yank the ball. They did some defensive shifts on him, and he just took what they gave him and sprayed it all over the yard. It was just another good game for him."

UP NEXT

Heidelberg (3-4) will be back on the diamond tomorrow when they travel to Fort Myers to take on UW-Stout in a doubleheader as a part of the Gene Cusic Classic. The first of their two games is scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m. at Terry Park Field 4.