In the sixth earliest start in school history, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team started their season on Feb. 22. Though an earlier start to the season give them the preparation they need for Horizon League play, the Panthers went 1-2 in the Jacksonville Invitational.

Panther head coach Scott Doffek is in his second year as the skipper for Milwaukee, after taking over for Jerry Augustine at the start of last season, and has a large task ahead. After finishing with a program-best 25 wins last season Doffek is looking to take his preseason third-ranked Panthers to the NCAA Tournament.

The Panthers saw their first action of the season against host Jacksonville on Friday in an eye-opening performance by the Dolphins. Milwaukee went down by seven by the end of the third but came back and notched two runs of their own in the fourth off a Josh Groves home run. The Dolphins were all but done, scoring seven runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth inning to pull away from the Panthers and take a win 20-8.

In Milwaukee’s second game of the tournament, they faced off against UNC-Wilmington, but only to see another loss pile-up. The Seahawks put up five runs off three home runs in the first inning to take a lead that the Panthers would never overcome. Senior Adam Ferrell came in to pitch for the last three innings, striking out one and allowing no runs on just one hit in the 6-3 loss.

In the third and final game of the invitational, the Panthers earned their first win of the young season. Craig Meier started the game, going 6 2/3 innings, striking out six and allowing just two runs in the 5-2 Panther victory. Milwaukee hit the board with two runs in the third to start things out, but the Spiders responded with a run of their own, making it 2-1 Panthers at the end of the third.

The Panthers notched one run in each the fourth and fifth innings to take a comfortable lead. Groves went 2-for-3 at the plate, driving in two runs while Ben Long had two hits of his own. Jordan Herbert earned his first save of the season, pitching the ninth inning and striking out one.

With their first win out of the way, the Panthers look to get a couple more in the win column when they travel to St. Mary’s for a four game series from Feb. 29-March 2. Milwaukee doesn’t get a chance to get a home crowd until Apr. 11 when Horizon League play begins. All games can be seen on GameTracker through the UWM Panthers website.

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