AUBURNDALE, Fla. — The Lawrence University baseball team earned a nonconference doubleheader split with Carleton College on Thursday.
The Knights took the opener 5-4, and Lawrence rallied for a 5-4 victory in the nightcap.
In the second game, Lawrence rallied for four runs in the fourth inning and then escaped jams in the sixth and seventh to preserve the win.
Brandon Klar went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs for the Vikings (3-7), and rookie Rudy Mueller-Schrader had a double and two RBIs.
Brad Olson allowed four runs in the first inning but settled down to work six strong innings for his first collegiate victory. Zach Rabideau pitched the seventh to pick up his second save of the season.
The first four batters of the game scored for Carleton (6-5), and the Vikings trailed 4-1 heading to the bottom of the fourth.
A fielder’s choice and walk put two runners aboard for Lawrence, and Mueller-Schrader belted a two-run double to trim the lead to 4-3. Two more walks loaded the bases, and Klar delivered a two-run, two-out single to give Lawrence a 5-4 advantage.
The Knights threatened in the sixth and had Brendon Fischel at third with one out. Olson got a line out and a popup to end the inning. Rabideau entered in the seventh but gave up a two-out triple to Griffin Bolte. Rabideau then struck out Wilson Battle looking to end the game.
In the opener, Carleton got a run in the bottom of the eighth to break a 4-4 tie. Chris Lasch led off the inning with a double against starter Kyle Duex, and Kennan Moore followed a run-scoring single to win it.
Travis Weber went 2-for-4 with a triple and drove in two runs for Lawrence, and Klar and Rabideau also went 2-for-4.
Lawrence trailed 3-0 before rallying for three runs in the top of the third. Klar’s single and an error on Matt Holliday’s grounder put two runners on base, and Andrew Lauber followed with a single to score Klar. Weber then smacked a two-run triple to tie the game at 3-3.
The Knights scratched out a run in the fifth to take the lead, but Lawrence tied it in the top of the seventh. Nolan Spencer started the rally with a one-out triple and came home on Holliday’s single to tie the game at 4-4.
Duex went the distance for Lawrence and took the loss. He allowed nine hits, struck out three and walked three. Alec Lawler went the distance, allowing 10 hits, to pick up the win.