Baseball

Category: Baseball

Baseball games vs. Ripon, JV contest vs. Marian postponed

APPLETON, Wis. — Rain on Monday and the forecast for more rain on Tuesday has forced the postponement of three Lawrence University baseball games.

Tuesday’s Midwest Conference doubleheader vs. Ripon College at Whiting Field has been postponed and will be played on Tuesday, April 16, at 1 p.m.

Monday’s junior varsity game against Marian University also has been postponed. No make-up date has been announced.

Lawrence is scheduled to return to action when it travels to Beloit College for a doubleheader on Saturday. The Bucs will then travel to Lawrence on Sunday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.

Lawrence drops pair to Red Hawks

RIPON, Wis. — The Lawrence University offense managed just seven hits in the Midwest Conference doubleheader on Sunday at Francis Field and was shut out twice by Ripon College.

The Red Hawks (6-8, 2-0 MWC) won the opener 5-0 and took the nightcap 10-0.

In the opener, Ripon starter Patrick Van Daalwyk went the distance to get the win. He allowed only four hits, struck out seven and walked one. Drew Doares also went the distance for Lawrence (6-6, 0-2 MWC), and he gave up 11 hits while striking out three and walking four.

Ripon, which led 3-0 after three innings and added two more runs in the seventh, had three players with two hits apiece.

In the nightcap, Ripon starter Steven Blader went the distance in a game that ended after eight innings. He allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked two. Atley Gay started, went seven innings and allowed nine hits, and took the loss for Lawrence.

Ripon broke open a close game with five runs in the fifth to lead 7-0. The Red Hawks, who had 12 hits, then won it with three runs in the eighth. Four Red Hawks had two hits apiece.

The teams are scheduled to finish the four-game series with a doubleheader at Lawrence’s Whiting Field on Tuesday.

Game one box score

Game two box score

 

 

 

Both baseball doubleheaders vs. Ripon rescheduled

APPLETON, Wis. — Both of Lawrence University’s baseball doubleheaders vs. Ripon College have been rescheduled.

Lawrence was scheduled to play at Ripon on Saturday and that doubleheader has been moved to Sunday at 1 p.m. at Francis Field.

Ripon was scheduled to play at Lawrence on Sunday, but that doubleheader has been moved to Tuesday, April 9, at 1 p.m. at Whiting Field.

Lawrence baseball at MSOE postponed

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University baseball doubleheader at MSOE, which was scheduled for Wednesday, has been postponed. The games are now scheduled to be played at Henry Aaron Field on May 1 at 4 p.m.

The Vikings are next in action when they travel to Ripon College on Saturday, April 6.

Late rally lifts Central to 8-4 win over Lawrence

PELLA, Iowa — The Central College baseball team rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning for an 8-4 nonconference victory over Lawrence University on Saturday.

The second game of the doubleheader was called off due to rain.

Central (7-3) broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the sixth with four runs on only three hits. Two sacrifice flies, a bunt single and Sam Stetzel’s run-scoring single gave the Dutch an 8-4 lead. The Vikings (6-4) got two runners aboard in the top of the seventh but could not score.

Lawrence managed only five hits, and Gabe Henriques went 2-for-3 and drove in a run to pace the Lawrence attack. Davis Ogilvie drove in a pair of runs for the Vikings.

Kelton Jenkins took the loss in relief for the Vikings. He allowed four runs on two hits and got only two outs in the sixth inning. Judson McKown pitched two innings of relief and allowed a pair of hits and a pair of runs to get the win.

Michael Jontz went 3-for-3 and scored three runs for the Dutch. Stetzel was 2-for-3 and drove in two runs for Central.

Lawrence trailed 1-0 before taking a 2-1 lead in the third. Central loaded the bases with three walks before Henriques delivered a single to score Marc Linger. Ogilvie followed with a sacrifice fly and the Vikings led 2-1.

Central tied it with a run in the bottom half of the inning and added another run in the fourth for a 3-2 lead. Lawrence came back and scored twice in the fifth to take the lead.

Linger again started the rally with a walk, and the Vikings loaded the baes witha  bunt single and another walk. Ogilvie lifted another sacrifice fly to score Linger and tie the game at 3-3. Aaron Benz’s infield single then scored Davide Harris for a 4-3 lead.

Central tied the game at 4-4 with a single run bottom of the fifth.

Lawrence is scheduled to return to action on Wednesday with a doubleheader at MSOE.

Box score

Inside LU Athletics: Pitching paces successful spring break trip

It didn’t take long for the Lawrence University baseball team to turn its season around.

After a traffic-filled, 30-hour bus ride to Fort Myers, Fla., the Vikings struggled out of the gate but earned a doubleheader split in their opening games with Lakeland College.

From that point, Lawrence’s pitching, offense and defense turned in a fine effort that allowed the Vikings to finish with a 6-3 spring break trip (the other two losses after the first day were both by one run). Lawrence currently has the best nonconference record among all Midwest Conference teams.

“If you take off the first game off the bus, we played pretty well,” Lawrence coach Jason Anderson said. “I was pretty pleased with the overall effort. We improved in every statistical category. The results look pretty good.”

The Vikings were led by their young pitching staff. In their final seven games in Florida, Lawrence pitchers put together a 2.87 earned run average. Lawrence pitchers also struck out 40 while walking only 14 in their final 53.1 innings. The Vikings allowed 28 hits and walked 25 on the opening day of the trip.

The Vikings have a core of three sophomore starters, Drew Doares, Atley Gay and Kelton Jenkins, leading the way.

“They looked like they were very experienced coming out,” Anderson said of that trio. “I wasn’t surprised when the games were happening, but when you look at the stats, those are surprising numbers.”

Jenkins made one start and tossed six shutout innings for a 0.00 ERA, and Gay went 1-0 in two starts (both Lawrence wins) with a 0.64 ERA. Doares went 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA and struck out 14 in 13 innings.

“The most positive thing that came from the trip, pitching-wise, was Alex Brewer solidified himself as the fourth starter, which is what we were missing last year,” Anderson said.

Brewer, a senior who started in right field last year and was a reliever, finished 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA in Florida.

“Our focus, in all honesty, was throwing two of the first three pitches for strikes and not walking anybody,” Anderson said. “Even with the tough first day, we walked 39 guys and struck out 52. It shows the guys have matured in the way we wanted them to.”

Anderson spreads the credit for that success to his three catchers, seniors Phil Wisniewski and Tanner DeBettencourt and junior Marc Linger.

“I have three excellent catchers who have taken over the pitch-calling duties,” Anderson said. “Not only do we work fast, but they see things that coaches can’t see from the dugout. Our pitch-calling has been top-notch since we got off the bus.”

While the pitching took a starring role on the trip, the Lawrence offense also posted some impressive numbers. The Vikings hit .354 for the nine games and also posted a rock solid .961 fielding percentage.

Senior outfielder Davide Harris led the Vikings with a .452 batting average and had an even better .575 on-base percentage after drawing a team-high nine walks. Senior shortstop Gabe Henriques wasn’t far behind with a .432 batting average with four doubles and 10 runs batted in and a team-high 12 runs scored.

Junior transfer Aaron Benz hit .382 with two doubles, a homer and a team-high 11 RBI. Wisniewski smacked a team-best eight doubles in nine games and hit .371.

“What we’ve been able to do this year is solidify our top six or seven guys immediately and put them out there and let them learn to play together,” Anderson said. “Our curve for winning games happened very fast. We had the same six or seven guys hitting in the same order.”

The Vikings will head to Iowa to face Central College this weekend since Whiting Field is still covered in snow. Lawrence is scheduled to play its home opener April 7 against Ripon College.

Home, sweet home

The Lawrence baseball, tennis and softball teams all had travel adventures returning home from their spring break trips in Florida.

The baseball team, which got caught in a massive traffic jam driving to Florida, narrowly missed a wreck with a semi-trailer in a snowstorm on the drive back. Fortunately, everyone arrived safely back in Appleton.

The men’s tennis team didn’t have any travel woes, but the Vikings had to hustle back from Orlando. Lawrence arrived back on campus just after 1 p.m. last Saturday and then went out to Fox Cities Racquet Club for a 4 p.m. match with Monmouth. Lawrence downed a talented Scots squad 6-3.

Softball was scheduled to fly out this past Sunday from Orlando but a nasty storm grounded the flight. Lawrence finally arrived back in Appleton late, late Sunday night. Just in time to get a few hours sleep and head to class on Monday morning.

Moving up

Senior tennis player Jason Dunn is closing in the No. 2 spot on Lawrence’s career wins list.

Dunn, who is 7-5 this season, won against Monmouth and now has 50 career victories. That puts him two wins shy of passing Caleb Ray for second place on the career list. Dunn could tie Ray with a win on Saturday against Knox College.

Dunn’s older brother, Ryan, is Lawrence’s career wins leader with 60.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Director of Athletic Media Relations Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.

Vikings top Knox to end spring break trip on winning note

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Lawrence University baseball team jumped out to an early lead and rolled to a 7-3 nonconference victory over Knox College on Thursday.

The Vikings got another stellar pitching performance from sophomore Drew Doares. He went seven innings, allowed five hits, struck out eight and did not walk a batter en route to the victory. Marty Salazar pitched the first three innings for Knox (3-2) and took the loss.

Gabe Henriques went 2-for-3, scored two runs and drove in a pair of runs to pace the Vikings (6-3). Marc Linger went 2-for-4 for the Vikings, and Davis Ogilvie drove in a pair of runs.

The Vikings grabbed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first. Henriques walked, and Aaron Benz followed with a single. The runners executed a double steal, and Ogilvie then grounded to third. Henriques scored on the ground ball, and Benz also came around to score on an errant throw to first.

Lawrence stretched the lead to 6-1 with four runs in the bottom of the second. Richie Foreman led off with a single, stole second and scored on Linger’s single to give Lawrence a 3-1 edge. Joel Birch and Davide Harris followed with walks to load the bases.

Henriques grounded into a fielder’s choice at second that allowed Linger to score, but an error after the out also allowed Birch to score for a 5-1 lead. After another ground out, Ogilvie singled and Henriques scored for a 6-1 advantage.

Knox scored twice in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 6-3, but the Vikings added another run on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom half of the inning. Lawrence closed out the win by allowing Knox only two more hits, both singles, in the final four innings.

Lawrence ended with the most wins on its spring break trip since the Vikings went 6-6 back in 2006. This was the first time the Vikings had posted a winning mark on their spring break trip since the team went 4-0 back in 1989.

Walk-off win gives Vikings doubleheader split with Bethany

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Lawrence University baseball team rallied for a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth inning of the nightcap on Wednesday to pick up a nonconference doubleheader split with Bethany (W.V.) College.

Lawrence (5-3) took the nightcap 2-1 in nine innings, and the Bison (2-6) won the opener 11-10.

Lawrence starter Atley Gay tossed eight shutout innings before Bethany got to reliever Dan Taylor in the ninth. A single and a two-out double gave the Bison a 1-0 lead.

Bethany brought in closer Brad Kubis but the Vikings got lead-off hitter Gabe Warshaw aboard on an error. After a sacrifice bunt, Gabe Henriques singled to score Warshaw and tie the game at 1-1.

Aaron Benz followed with a single to put runners at the corners, and Kubis then intentionally walked Tanner DeBettencourt to load the bases. Sam Kossow then singled past the drawn-in infield to score Henriques and win it for Lawrence.

Kossow finished 2-for-3, and Benz went 2-for-4. Davide Harris paced the Lawrence offense by going 3-for-3.

Bethany took a 6-0 lead in the first inning of the opener against Lawrence starter Brian King, who went 2.2 innings.

Lawrence grabbed the lead back with eight runs in the top of the second. The big blow for the Vikings was Davis Ogilvie’s grand slam, which also was his first collegiate home run. Lawrence pushed the lead to 10-6 in the top of the third when Benz hit his first collegiate homer, a two-run blast.

Bethany cut the lead to 10-9 with three runs in the bottom half of the third, and the Bison tied it at 10-10 with a run in the fifth.

The Bison won it in the bottom of the seventh against reliever Miles Link. An error, a single and an infield single loaded the bases with one out, and Chuck Ziants’ fly ball over the drawn-in outfield scored the winning run.

Phil Wisniewski paced the Lawrence offense by going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, and Harris went 2-for-5 and drove in a run. 

Lawrence wraps up its trip to Florida with a single game against Knox College on Thursday.

Vikings roll past Minnesota-Morris 14-1

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Lawrence University baseball team scored in every inning but the first and rolled to a 14-1 nonconference victory over the University of Minnesota-Morris on Tuesday.

The Vikings (4-2) racked up 12 hits and rode the solid pitching of Kelton Jenkins for the victory. Jenkins went six innings, allowed five hits, struck out three and didn’t walk a batter.

The Vikings were up 1-0 when they struck for four runs in the third. Gabe Henriques, who finished 2-for-4, smacked a two-run double in the inning as Lawrence pushed its lead to 5-0.

Minnesota-Morris (1-3) answered with an unearned run in the top of the fourth, but the Vikings countered with two more runs in the bottom half of the inning to go up 7-1.

The Vikings then scored four more times in the fifth. Lawrence loaded the bases on a pair of singles and walk, and junior Aaron Benz cashed in. Benz belted a three-run double as Lawrence pushed its lead to 11-1 after five innings.

The Vikings then closed out the game via the run rule by scoring three more times in the sixth. Morris walked in a run, and the Vikings got a pair of infield singles to go up 14-1.

Freshman pitcher Miles Link came on in the seventh and struck out a pair to finish the game.

Lawrence offense comes alive in 9-2 win over Utica

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Lawrence University baseball team pounded out 20 hits and rolled to a 9-2 nonconference win over Utica College on Tuesday.

Lawrence (3-2) had four players with three hits apiece. Phil Wisniewski went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs batted in. Joel Birch went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. Davide Harris also went 3-for-5 with a double, and Gabe Henriques was 3-for-6 with a double.

Aaron Benz went 2-for-5 with a double and drove in two runs, and Sam Kossow was 2-for-4 for the Vikings.

Alex Brewer started and went 7.1 innings to pick up the win. He allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked two.

Lawrence got a run-scoring double from Benz in the first and run-scoring doubles from Birch and Tanner DeBettencourt in the second to build a 3-0 lead.

The Vikings tacked on a run in the fourth on Birch’s RBI single, and Lawrence broke the game open with four runs in the seventh. Kossow had a run-scoring single, and Wisniewski added a two-run double in the seventh as Lawrence took a 8-1 lead.

Joshua Webb pitched the first four innings and took the loss for Utica (0-3).