Joseph Vanden Acker

Author: Joseph Vanden Acker

Ripon shuts down Vikings

RIPON, Wis. — The Ripon College baseball team tossed a no-hitter and a shutout on Saturday with 10-0 and 21-0 Midwest Conference wins over Lawrence University at Francis Field.

In the nightcap, Jason Wierschke didn’t allow a hit in seven innings. He struck out nine and walked three.

Nick Hughes led the Ripon offense by going 3-for-5 and driving in five runs.

In the opener, Kurt Roeder tossed a three-hit shutout for Ripon (13-14, 7-3 MWC). He struck out seven and walked two. Zach Bayreuther went 2-for-3 and Kyle Bosquez and Nick Beaman drove in two runs apiece for Ripon.

Alex Brewer had two of the three hits for Lawrence (2-25, 0-8).

Game one box score

Game two box score

Vikings rout Ripon 9-0

The Lawrence University men’s tennis team continued its recent mastery of Ripon College with a 9-0 Midwest Conference victory over the Red Hawks at the Fox Cities Racquet Club on Saturday.

Lawrence (6-12, 2-1 MWC) has now beaten Ripon 9-0 for three consecutive seasons. Ripon (1-10, 1-3 MWC) hasn’t won a match against the Vikings since the 2008 season.

The Vikings dropped only one set en route to the shutout victory. Caleb Ray put on a dominating performance for the second consecutive day as he posted a 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 2 singles.

Box score

Relay team takes title at UW-Whitewater Invitational

WHITEWATER, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s 400-meter relay team took the title at the UW-Whitewater Invitational on Saturday.

The team of Jon Bruehl, Sam Wagner, Jesse Peterson and Cam Blegen grabbed first place in 46.84 seconds.

Lawrence also had a host of other top finishes.

Tom Coben grabbed third in the 10,000 meters in 36:33.30. David Zane and Sam Stevens finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Zane was fifth in 10:17.54 and Stevens was sixth in 10:18.58.

On the women’s side, Rose Tepper was the top finisher for the Vikings with a third place in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 1.75 inches.

Men’s results

Women’s results

Pechan takes second at MWC Championships

ROCKFORD, Ill. — Lawrence University’s John Pechan grabbed second place at the Midwest Conference Championships, which wrapped up Saturday at Aldeen Golf Club.

Pechan carded a final round of 78 on the par-72 layout and finished with a 54-hole score of 235. Carroll University’s Eric Busalacchi won the title with a score of 232. Busalacchi also shot 78 on Saturday but was three shots better than Pechan on Friday, and that proved to be the winning margin.

Pechan’s finish earned him all-conference honors and it was the highest finish by a Lawrence golfer since Joe Loehnis tied for first and lost in a playoff for the title back in 2006.

Carroll won the team title with a score of 948. Lawrence finished eighth with a score of 1,086.

The other finishers for the Vikings were: Nathan Fearing (tied 37th), Jon Mays (43rd), Derek Brickan (45th) and Zach Joseph (46th).

Results

Pechan climbs up to fourth at MWC Championships

ROCKFORD, Ill. — Lawrence University standout John Pechan carded a 75 on Friday and moved into a tie for fourth place after the second round of the Midwest Conference Championships at Aldeen Golf Club.

Pechan’s 3-over par round on Friday gives him a 36-hole total of 157. He is three shots off the lead of leader Eric Busalacchi, who shot 72 in the second round.

Lawrence moved up to seventh place in the team standings. Carroll holds a nine-shot lead in the team standings.

The final round of the championship is slated for Saturday.

Results

Vikings rout Illinois College

The Lawrence University men’s tennis team routed Illinois College 9-0 in a nonconference match on Friday at the Lawrence Courts.

The Vikings (5-12) did not drop a set on their way to the shutout victory. Caleb Ray posted the most impressive victory of the day with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles. He also teamed with Jeremy Andereck for a victory at No. 2 doubles.

Freshman Bile Ali earned his first collegiate singles victory with a 6-2, 6-3 at No. 6.

Results

Pechan tied for seventh after opening day of MWC Championships

ROCKFORD, Ill. — Lawrence University freshman John Pechan is tied for seventh place after the opening round of the Midwest Conference Championships at Aldeen Golf Club.

Pechan carded an 82 on Thursday at the difficult par-72 layout. Carroll University’s Blaine Lynch has the lead with a 76.

Lawrence shot a team score of 368 and is in ninth place. Carroll leads with a score of 318.

The second round is scheduled for Friday, and the tournament wraps up with Saturday’s final round.

First round results

Vikings rally for doubleheader split with St. Norbert

The Lawrence University softball team rallied from a three-run deficit to take a 4-3 win in the nightcap and split a Midwest Conference doubleheader with St. Norbert College on Wednesday at Whiting Field. St. Norbert won the opener 8-0.

Gaelen Lombard-Knapp hit a three-run homer in the nightcap for Lawrence (11-14, 4-5 MWC), and Emily Perish pitched 3.2 innings of scoreless relief to get the win.

St. Norbert (15-14, 8-3) grabbed a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning of the second game. Abby Van Straten had a two-run single, and Jessica Kropp had a run-scoring double in the inning.

Lawrence then tied it in the bottom half of the fourth. Alissa Geipel started the inning with a double and Shannon Murray followed with a walk. After a fielder’s choice ground out, Lombard-Knapp blasted a three-run homer, her second of the season, to tie the game at 3-3.

Lawrence then grabbed the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Katie Simonsen started the rally with a one-out double. After a sacrifice bunt moved Simonsen to third, Geipel lined a single to right field to score Simonsen and give the Vikings a 4-3 lead.

Perish then worked around a single and an error in the sixth to keep the Green Knights from tying the game.

St. Norbert threatened again in the seventh when Brittany Narges hit a one-out triple. With the infield playing in, Kayla Krueger grounded to shortstop Cory Paquette, who threw home to cut down Narges trying to score. Lombard-Knapp then fired back to Diduch and tagged out Krueger, who was trying to advance to second, to end the game.

Geipel and Diduch both went 2-for-3 for the Vikings in the nightcap.

Krueger, who allowed six hits, struck out five and walked one in going the distance, took the loss for St. Norbert.

In the opener, the Green Knights got a great pitching performance from Kari Corbeille, who tossed a one-hit shutout. The only hit she allowed was was Cathy Kaye’s lead-off single in the bottom of the first.

Kropp went 2-for-4, homered and drove in three runs in the opener. Narges also went 2-for-4 and hit a home run, and Ashtin Schmechel was 2-for-3 with a homer and drove in two runs.

Murray went the distance and took the loss for Lawrence. She allowed 13 hits, struck out four and did not walk a batter.

Game one box score

Game two box score

Tuesday’s baseball, softball doubleheaders postponed

Both the Lawrence University baseball and softball doubleheaders scheduled for Tuesday have been postponed. The baseball doubleheader has been rescheduled to be played at St. Norbert College on May 4 at a time to be determined.

The softball doubleheader, also vs. St. Norbert, has been rescheduled for Wednesday at Whiting Field. First pitch for the softball doubleheader is set for 3 p.m.

In addition, Wednesday’s baseball game with MSOE at Whiting Field has been canceled.