Joseph Vanden Acker

Author: Joseph Vanden Acker

St. Norbert rallies to complete doubleheader sweep of Vikings in season finale

The St. Norbert College baseball team got two runs in the top of the ninth inning to rally for a Midwest Conference doubleheader sweep of Lawrence University in the season finale Sunday night at Fox Cities Stadium.

The Green Knights won the nightcap 8-6 after taking the opener 15-7.

Zach Owsley went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in to pace Lawrence (7-29, 2-14 MWC) in the nightcap. Rayn Way went 3-for-5 for the Green Knights (23-10, 13-3).

The Vikings grabbed a 6-2 lead with a pair of runs in the fourth and four more in the fifth. Owsley had a run-scoring single in the fourth and a two-run single in the fifth, and A.J. Nathan had a RBI single in the fifth.

St. Norbert cut the lead to 6-4 on Jared Yost’s two-run homer in the sixth. Lawrence then left the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, and the Green Knights tied it with two runs on only one hit in the seventh.

St. Norbert turned a key double play in the bottom of the eighth, and Lawrence left the bases loaded again in that inning. The Vikings stranded 13 runners in the contest.

The Green Knights then took the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the ninth. Jordan Powers started the inning with a single and then stole second. An intentional walk and an error loaded the bases, and Powers scored on a passed ball. A sacrifice fly then scored Tony Jandron to give St. Norbert an 8-6 lead.

David Schneider worked around Gabe Henriques’ single in the bottom of the ninth to pick up the win.

The Green Knights scored all 15 runs in the first three innings of the opener.

Yost went 4-for-4 with five RBIs and three runs scored. Phil Wisniewski had two hits and drove in a pair of runs for the Vikings, and Henriques had two hits.

Ryan Sullivan pitched five innings to pick up the win. Schneider pitched the final four innings to record the save.

Game one box score

Game two box score

Vikings drop pair to St. Norbert

DE PERE, Wis. — The St. Norbert College baseball team rallied late to win the first game and then broke open the second game in the seventh inning to sweep a Midwest Conference doubleheader from Lawrence University on Saturday at Mel Nicks Field.

St. Norbert (21-10, 11-3 MWC) won the opener 8-5 and took the nightcap 12-2.

Robert Rashid, Luke Kostreva, Davide Harris and Phil Wisniewski all had two hits for the Vikings (7-27, 2-12). Tony Jandron went 4-for-4 and drove in four runs for the Green Knights.

After giving up four runs in the first, Lawrence rallied to take a 5-4 lead. Kostreva hit a solo homer in the second, and the Vikings added two more runs in the third on only one hit. An error and Rashid’s RBI single gave Lawrence two more runs in the sixth and a 5-4 edge.

St. Norbert tied it on Jandron’s double in the bottom of the sixth, and then scored three times in the eighth. The big blow in that inning was Jandron’s two-run homer.

Jandron worked a perfect ninth to pick up the save. Trevin Hillesheim allowed 10 hits over eight innings to get the win.

Lawrence broke a scoreless tie in the nightcap with two runs in the fourth on a pair of run-scoring groundouts.

St. Norbert took a 3-2 lead in the bottom half of the inning with Ryan Gusick belting a two-run double. The Green Knights added two more runs in the fifth with Ryan Way picking up a run-scoring single.

St. Norbert then broke the game open with five runs in the seventh. Jordan Powers had a two-run single, Ryan Kehl had a RBI single, and the Vikings issued a pair of bases-loaded walks.

The Green Knights then ended the game with a pair of runs in the eighth.

Bryan Stoppenbach went the distance to pick up the win.

Game one box score

Game two box score

LU baseball tops UW-Stevens Point

A.J. Nathan delivered a run-scoring single in the bottom of the eighth, and the Lawrence University baseball team came up with a big double play in the top of the ninth to beat UW-Stevens Point 10-9 in a nonconference game Wednesday at Don Hawkins Field.

Luke Kostreva pitched the final two innings to pick up the victory and went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and three runs batted in. Robert Rashid and Andy Frelich both went 3-for-5 for the Vikings.

In a wild and windy night, Lawrence (7-25) jumped on the Pointers (24-12) early and built a 4-1 lead after two innings.

UWSP rallied for three runs in the third to tie it and then scored twice in the fourth and two more times in the fifth to take an 8-4 lead.

Lawrence battled back with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Rashid started the rally with a double, and Frelich followed with a single to cut score Rashid and cut the lead to 8-5. Kostreva then blasted a two-run homer to right to trim the margin to 8-7.

The Vikings then took the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh. Rashid got things started again with a walk and a stolen base. Frelich singled to score Rashid and tie the game at 8-8.

After a walk to Kostreva and a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, Tyler Christ reached on an error by the shortstop, and Frelich scored to give Lawrence a 9-8 lead.

The Pointers battled back in the top of the eighth to tie the game on Brad Archambeau’s run-scoring single.

Lawrence grabbed the lead right back in the bottom of the eighth when Phil Wisniewski reached on infield single to start the frame. Wisniewski then scored on Nathan’s two-out single to put Lawrence up 10-9.

The Vikings then sealed the win with a unique double play in the ninth. Sam Spurney was hit by a pitch to start the inning and went to second on a sacrifice bunt. After a walk put runners at first and second, Kevin Thomas popped up just behind third base.

The infield fly rule was in effect and Thomas was called out. The ball dropped in fair territory, and shortstop Gabe Henriques doubled off pinch-runner Garrett Medenwald at second base to end the game.

Ryan Iverson pitched the eighth and took the loss for the Pointers.

Box score

Dunn brothers take second in doubles at MWC Championships

MADISON, Wis. – Brothers Ryan and Jason Dunn took second place at No. 1 doubles to pace the Lawrence University men’s tennis team on Sunday at the Midwest Conference Championships.

The Dunn brothers won their quarterfinal match when Beloit College’s Alex Sterett and Evan Orman when the Bucs retired in the first set. The Lawrence duo then beat St. Norbert College’s Mike Hyrczyk and Nick Acosta 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.

Grinnell College’s Dmitriy Glumov and Juan Carlos Perez then topped the Dunn brothers 6-1, 6-1 in the championship match.

At No. 2 doubles, Lawrence’s Caleb Ray and Max Zlevor beat Ripon College’s Sam Ewig and Alex Tessman 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals before falling to Lake Forest College’s Joe Campagna and Chris Paterakos 6-1, 7-6 in the semifinals.

Lawrence’s Cooper Smith and Peter Mohr also fell in the semifinals. Lawrence beat Monmouth College’s Gabe Cheng and Matt Smith 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Grinnell’s Colin Johnson and Michael Cole then beat Mohr and Smith 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals.

Complete results

Ripon pulls off doubleheader sweep of Vikings

RIPON, Wis. – The Ripon College got an inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the 12th inning to complete a Midwest Conference doubleheader sweep of Lawrence University on Saturday at Francis Field.

Ripon won the nightcap 18-17 after taking the opener 11-0.

In a wild second game, the teams had 20 hits apiece. Robert Rashid paced Lawrence (6-25, 2-10 MWC) by going 5-for-7 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. Tyler Christ went 4-for-6, and Phil Wisniewski drove in four runs.

Kyle Bosquez went 5-for-7 to pace Ripon (17-15, 8-4).

Ripon built leads of 7-0 and 15-10 but Lawrence rallied. The Vikings scored seven times in the top of the ninth to take a 17-15 lead. Wisniewski had a three-run double in the inning, Christ had a run-scoring double and Rashid had a RBI single.

Ripon tied it in the bottom of the ninth with the help of an error and two bunt singles.

The Red Hawks won it in the bottom of the 12th when Bryant Bullock hit a ball down the left field line that ended up under the bench in the Ripon bullpen. Bullock raced around the bases and scored to end the game.

In the opener, Jason Wierschke scattered five hits over seven innings for the shutout. He struck out four and walked four.

Nate Paul went 3-for-4 to pace the Ripon offense, and Nick Whitty drove in three runs. A.J. Nathan picked up a pair of hits for Lawrence.

Game one box score

Game two box score

Steininger, Tepper top Lawrence finishers at UW-Oshkosh Invitational

OSHKOSH, Wis. – Madeline Steininger and Rose Tepper led Lawrence University’s finishers at Saturday’s UW-Oshkosh Invitational.

Steininger won the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 3 inches, and Tepper took third with a jump of 5-1. Tepper also posted a fifth-place finish in the triple jump with a leap of 32-2.25.

The Lawrence men were led by David Zane, who placed third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 10:26.0. Sam Stevens grabbed a fourth place in the 800 meters in 2:00.03.

Thrower Nick Kerkman broke the Lawrence record in the hammer throw. His toss of 145-1 broke the record of Mike Pierquet, who set the mark in 2006 with a throw of 142-5.

Complete results

Vyskocil earns all-conference honors to pace Vikings at MWC Championships

ROCKFORD, Ill. – Lawrence University golfer Tom Vyskocil earned all-conference honors with a 10th-place finish Saturday at the Midwest Conference Championships at Aldeen Golf Club.

Vyskocil carded rounds of 83, 80 and 77 for a 54-hole

Tom Vyskocil
Tom Vyskocil

score of 240 on the par-72 layout. The senior from Brookfield, Ill., made the all-conference team for the first time in his career.

Lawrence finished eighth in the team standings, and Monmouth College won the team title. Monmouth’s Rodney Clayton was the medalist with a score of 228.

Senior Adam Ferguson finished 14th, Jon Mays was 36th, Jim Crowley tied for 43rd, Zach Joseph was tied for 48th and Brad Scurfield was 51st.

Complete results

Dunn brothers pace Vikings at MWC Championships

MADISON, Wis. – Brothers Ryan Dunn and Jason Dunn paced the Lawrence University men’s tennis team during Saturday’s singles competition at the Midwest Conference Championships at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

Ryan Dunn finished second at No. 1 singles and Jason Dunn was second at No. 3 singles. Ryan dropped a 7-6, 6-4 decision to Grinnell College’s Juan Carlos Perez in the championship match. Jason fell 6-2, 6-2 to Lake Forest College’s John Adams in the title match.

Caleb Ray won the consolation title at No. 2 singles, Cooper Smith was eliminated in the semifinals at No. 4 singles, Max Zlevor lost in the semifinals at No. 5 singles and Yashushi Kobayashi fell in the semifinals at No. 6 singles.

The doubles competition takes place on Sunday.

Complete results

Vikings win wild game to split doubleheader with Elmhurst

The Lawrence University softball team won a wild second game of a nonconference doubleheader on Saturday to secure a split with Elmhurst College at Whiting Field.

Lawrence won the nightcap 6-5 in nine innings, and Elmhurst took the opener 9-0.

Lawrence (16-16) had built a 4-2 lead with the help of Cathy Kaye’s two-run single in the second inning. Elmhurst got a run in the fifth and then scored twice in the sixth to take a 5-4 lead.

The Vikings tied it at 5-5 with a run in the bottom of the sixth. Britni Totzke was hit by a pitch to start the inning and went to second on a wild pitch. After a bunt moved Totzke to third, Lindsay Nauman misplayed Kaye’s ground ball and Totzke scored.

Elmhurst then stranded a runner at third in the eighth and runners at second and third in the ninth.

The Vikings won with the help of a throwing error in the bottom of the ninth. Elmhurst (22-16) brought star pitcher Stephanie Iori on in relief, but she walked Katie Simonson to start the inning.

After a pair of strikeouts, Shannon Murray hit a line drive back at Iori. Iori knocked it down but threw wildly past first base, and Simonson came all the way around to score.

Lawrence had only three hits in the nightcap, but took advantage of five walks and six Elmhurst errors. Emily Perish pitched the ninth to pick up the win.

In the opener, Elmhurst broke open a scoreless game with six runs in the fifth inning. Iori went the distance and allowed only five hits to pick up the win.

Amanda Bowlin and Maureen Roderick had three hits apiece to pace the Bluejays.

Game one box score

Game two box score

LU golfers shoot lower score but lose ground at MWC Championships

ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Lawrence University golf team shot a lower score during Friday’s second round of the Midwest Conference Championships but lost ground.

Lawrence carded a team score of 339, six shots lower than Thursday’s opening round, but dropped from sixth place to eighth in the team standings. Adam Ferguson and Tom Vyskocil lead the Vikings and are both tied for 14th place with a 36-hole score of 163.

The tournament concludes Saturday at Aldeen Golf Club.

Midwest Conference Championships (April 29-May 1, 2010)

At Aldeen Golf Club (par 72)
Lawrence 345-339 684 (eighth place)
T14 Tom Vyskocil          83-80 163
T14 Adam Ferguson         85-78 163
T35 Jon Mays              85-91 176
 45 Jim Crowley           92-90 182
 48 Zach Joseph           93-95 188
 51 Brad Scurfield       93-101 194