Baseball

Category: Baseball

Green Knights down Vikings in pair of slugfests

The St. Norbert College baseball team downed Lawrence University in a pair of slugfests at Whiting Field on Sunday.

The Green Knights won the opener 14-10, and St. Norbert (19-10, 10-2 MWC) took the nightcap of the Midwest Conference doubleheader 10-8.

Travis Mason and Matt Hannon had three hits apiece in the opener for St. Norbert, and Mason drove in six runs. Nathan Schadrie pitched seven innings of relief to get the win for St. Norbert.

Davis Ogilvie and Davide Harris had three hits apiece for Lawrence. Ogilvie, also the starting pitcher, had his first career hit, his first career double and drove in his first two runs. Eric Bohling, Phil Wisniewski, Sam Kossow and Jake Gordon all had two hits for the Vikings.

Ogilvie allowed six hits over 7 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked five. Phil Clark allowed five runs without recording an out and took the loss.

Lawrence (13-18, 4-8) had built an 8-6 lead in the opener before St. Norbert struck for six runs in the eighth inning. The big blows in the inning were Mason’s two-run homer and Garrick Fisher’s solo shot.

Lawrence cut the lead to 12-9 with a run in the bottom of the eighth, but St. Norbert got two more runs in the top of the ninth to push the lead to 14-9. Harris smacked a run-scoring double in the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead to 14-10 but the Vikings could get no closer.

Jordan Powers and Hannon both had three hits in the nightcap for St. Norbert, and Jose Godinez and Alex Larsen both homered for the Green Knights.

Bohling went 3-for-5 and homered for Lawrence, and Kossow, Gordon and Tanner DeBettencourt all had two hits for the Vikings.

Lawrence built a 6-2 lead by scoring three times in the second and three more times in the third. The Vikings held that edge until St. Norbert exploded for seven runs in the sixth inning. Godinez belted a three-run homer for the Green Knights and Mason had a key two-run single in the inning.

Lawrence trimmed the lead to 9-7 in the bottom half of the inning when Bohling led off with a homer. The Vikings then trimmed the lead to 9-8 in the bottom of the eighth when Ogilvie pinch-hit and drew a bases-loaded walk from Kevin Nutley. Nutley then struck out Harris and Gabe Henriques to preserve the one-run lead.

St. Norbert added an insurance run in the top of the ninth, but Lawrence got a single from Bohling and Kossow walked to put the tying runs aboard in the bottom half of the inning. Nutley then got Gordon to ground out to end the game and pick up his second save of the season.

Nick Dagneau pitched three innings of relief to get the win. Atley Gay started for Lawrence and took the loss.

Game one box score

Game two box score

St. Norbert takes two from Vikings

DE PERE, Wis. — The St. Norbert College baseball team picked up a Midwest Conference doubleheader sweep against Lawrence University on Saturday at Mel Nicks Field.

St. Norbert (17-10, 8-2 MWC) won the opener 24-2 and took the nightcap 6-1.

In the opener, St. Norbert pounded out 25 hits and scored in each of the first five innings. Chad Ljunggren went 4-for-5, scored three runs and drove in three for St. Norbert. Garrick Fisher and Troy Rottier had three hits apiece, and Rottier drove in four runs.

Kevin Nutley pitched five innings to pick up the win. Drew Doares lasted only 1 1/3 innings and took the loss.

Phil Wisniewski went 2-for-2 to lead Lawrence (13-16, 4-6).

In the nightcap, St. Norbert used timely hitting to build a 6-0 lead. Travis Mason, Jose Godinez and Ljunggren all had two hits for the Green Knights.

Josh Honzik went eight-plus innings to get the win. He allowed six hits, struck out 10 and walked two. Kelton Jenkins went 5 2/3 innings and took the loss.

Wisniewski again collected two hits for the Vikings.

Game one box score

Game two box score

Big inning helps Lawrence cut down Lumberjacks

A big third inning lifted the Lawrence University baseball team to a 6-4 nonconference victory over Northland College on Wednesday at Whiting Field.

The Vikings (13-14) scored all six of their runs in the third inning and have now won their last seven nonconference games.

Eric Bohling went 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs on his second home run of the season to lead the Vikings. Freshman outfielder Jake Gordon went 3-for-4 for Lawrence.

Sophomore John Doran worked three innings of relief to pick up his first career victory. Doran allowed four hits, struck out three and walked one. Phil Clark worked a perfect ninth to get his second save of the season.

Shane Ellias started and lasted only 2 2/3 innings. He allowed all six runs and took the loss for Northland (12-19).

Northland led 1-0 heading to the bottom of the third when Gabe Henriques started the rally with a one-out single. Bohling followed with a homer down the left field line to give the Vikings a 2-1 lead.

After Joel Birch walked and Phil Wisniewski singled, Sam Kossow singled to score Birch. Gordon laid down a bunt single, but a throwing error on the play allowed Wisniewski to score. Another error allowed Marc Linger to reach and Kossow and Gordon both scored on that play to put Lawrence up 6-2.

Northland added a single run in the sixth and two more in the seventh, but Kelton Jenkins came on in relief to shut down the rally in the seventh. Dan Taylor worked a scoreless eighth, and Clark worked a 1-2-3 ninth, including striking out the final batter to get the save.

Lawrence returns to Midwest Conference play when it travels to St. Norbert College on Saturday for a doubleheader.

Box score

 

Inside LU Athletics: Young pitchers showing the way for Vikings

The odds of having a successful baseball season with a starting staff made up of four freshmen are slightly better than the Publisher’s Clearinghouse prize van pulling into your driveway.

Lawrence University baseball coach Jason Anderson may want to consider buying a lottery ticket because he picked some winners this spring. With four first-year players in the starting rotation and another two freshmen playing key roles out of the bullpen, Lawrence seems to have turned a corner where its pitching staff is concerned.

The Vikings are 12-14 entering play this week, and Lawrence is 4-4 in the Midwest Conference’s North Division. With half of the conference games complete, Lawrence is battling for a spot in the MWC Tournament.

“All we talk about is throwing strikes,” Anderson said. “If we believe in that, we are just fine. The end result is we’ve had two shutouts this season.”

Starters Drew Doares, Kelton Jenkins, Atley Gay and Davis Ogilvie have combined with relievers Phil Clark and Dan Taylor to form a formidable freshmen force.

“They’ve made a nice progression, and we’ve really cut down our ERA this season,” Andersons said. “We want to have the hitters get themselves out.

On or out in four pitches is our mantra.”

Lawrence’s earned run average went from 11.18 in 2011 to 6.21 thus far in 2012. The more innings these young hurlers log, the lower that ERA is going. Since the team returned from its spring break trip to Florida, the ERA is 5.64 over the last 16 games.

The other big change from a season ago is the number of free passes issued by Lawrence. The Vikings walked an average of 7.3 batters per nine innings in 2011, and that is down to 5.5 in 2012.

“Our pitchers have been doing as well as can be expected,” said Jenkins, a native of Bainbridge Island, Wash., with a 2-3 record and 4.91 ERA. “We’ve had some great coaching, and there are a lot of people pushing us every day to improve. I knew coming in that we were going to be a pretty talented group, but we have truly risen to the occasion as a pitching staff and rallied behind each other.”

Gay, who hails from nearby Manitowoc, Wis., leads the team with a 3.48 ERA and has a 2-0 record on the season. He was chosen as the MWC Pitcher of the Week after picking up his first career win and save recently.

Doares, who came to Lawrence from Holly Springs, N.C., has a team-best three wins and a 4.46 ERA. He has struck out a team-best 28 and posted his first career shutout, a five-hit, 1-0 win over Beloit last Saturday. Ogilvie is the hardest thrower in the group and has a 1-3 mark with a 7.46 ERA.

“They are all very different and that’s why the staff is very good,” Anderson said.

Clark has posted a 2-1 record with a save and a 4.66 ERA while working strictly in relief. Clark, an Omro, Wis., native whose brothers Louie and Jordan were both stars for the Vikings, came in as a position player but has found a home in the bullpen. Taylor, who came from a very small California high school, has pitched from the bullpen and played in the field. He is 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA.

“I didn’t think I would have six,” Anderson said. “The reality is that I thought three of them would be huge contributors this year.”

After winning only three games a season ago, the Vikings are four times better than that already this season. Lawrence also split the four-game series with both defending conference champion Ripon College and defending North Division champ Beloit. The pitching has been a big part of that, and Jenkins believes this young group will continue to improve.

“We can be as good as we want,” Jenkins said. “I see the sky as the limit. As long as we keep pitching with confidence, good things will happen. The goal for this year was to make it to (the conference tournament) so I’m pretty focused on that, but I imagine we’ll only go up from there, especially as we get more college experience under our belts.”

Anderson said it is up to the pitchers to decide their level of excellence.

“The answer lies within the guys,” Anderson said. “It depends on how hard they work in the off-season. My goal for those guys is to be pushing to be on the all-conference team. Baseball is about pitching and they are all buying into it.”

Streaking Vikings

Lawrence saw its baseball win streak stop at seven games after winning the opening game of last Saturday’s doubleheader against Beloit. That matches the seven-game win streak the 1980 squad put together.

Running with the big boys

Sam Stevens and Kyle Dockery will face their toughest competition of the season when they travel to the Hillsdale College Gina Relays this week.

Stevens will run the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday, and Dockery will run the 10,000 meters on Thursday against an elite field featuring multiple Division I athletes. Stevens is coming off a win in the steeplechase at UW-La Crosse last Friday, and Dockery won the 5,000 last Saturday at St. Norbert.

Tennis records fall

The women’s tennis team beat UW-Stevens Point 8-1 last Saturday to set a season record for victories. Lawrence finished 14-8 to top the record of 13 wins set in 2005 and again in 2008.

Senior No. 1 singles player Beth Larson finished her season with an impressive 24-3 record and eclipsed the season wins record of 21 set by Appleton native Linda Tomtshak in 1985.

Feeling left out

The men’s tennis team tied for first place in the North Division with Carroll University and St. Norbert. All three teams had a 2-1 record and a 1-1 mark against each other, but Lawrence came up short in the tiebreaker of total matches won.

Carroll and St. Norbert won the tiebreaker and will play in the four-team MWC Tournament on Friday. Lawrence will go for individual singles and doubles titles on Saturday and Sunday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wis.

Lawrence finished sixth in the MWC Championships a season ago.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Sports Information Director 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.

Shutout lifts Vikings to split against Beloit

BELOIT, Wis. — Atley Gay and Phil Clark combined on a five-hit shutout in the opener, and the Lawrence University baseball team split a Midwest Conference doubleheader with Beloit College on Sunday.

Lawrence (12-14, 4-4 MWC) won the opener 4-0 and Beloit (15-16, 7-5) took the nightcap 9-0. The teams split the four-game series this weekend.

In the first game, Gay allowed only four hits over 6 2/3 innings to improve to 2-0 on the season. Gay struck out three and walked three. Clark picked up his first career save by working the final 2 1/3 innings. He gave up one hit, struck out two and didn’t walk a batter.

Lawrence rapped out 12 hits in the opener, and Sam Kossow went 3-for-4 to lead the attack. Gabe Henriques, Joel Birch and Phil Wisniewski all had two hits for the Vikings.

The Vikings broke a scoreless tie in the fourth when Wisniewski singled and then scored on Kossow’s double.

Lawrence pushed the lead to 3-0 with a pair of runs in the fifth. Davide Harris got things started with a two-out single, and Henriques followed with a run-scoring double. Eric Bohling then belted another double to score Henriques for a 3-0 edge.

The Vikings added an insurance run in the ninth when Henriques walked and later scored on Birch’s single.

Andrew Edwards worked 6 2/3 innings and took the loss for Beloit.

Jim Leyhane and Al Loth combined on a shutout for Beloit in the nightcap. Leyhane allowed only three hits over five innings, and Loth tossed four innings of one-hit relief to pick up the save.

Davis Ogilvie lasted only 1 2/3 innings and took the loss.

Beloit pulled out to a 7-0 lead by scoring twice in the first, three times in the second and twice in the third.

Game one box score

Game two box score

Doares tosses shutout as Vikings split with Beloit

Freshman pitcher Drew Doares tossed a shutout to lead the Lawrence University baseball team to a Midwest Conference doubleheader split with Beloit College on Saturday at Whiting Field.

The Vikings (11-13, 3-3 MWC) won the opener 1-0, and Beloit (14-15, 6-4) hung on for a 4-2 win in the nightcap.

Doares was simply outstanding for Lawrence in the opener. He picked up his first career shutout and allowed only five hits. He struck out four and walked three. It was the first 1-0 shutout by a Lawrence pitcher since Aaron Leitner beat Grinnell 1-0 on March 22, 2009, but that was a seven-inning contest.

Eric Bohling paced Lawrence’s 10-hit attack by going 3-for-4 and driving in the game’s only run. Gabe Henriques and Joel Birch both went 2-for-4 for the Vikings.

Lawrence scored the game’s only run in the bottom of the first inning. Davide Harris led off the game with a double and went to third on Henriques’ groundout. Bohling followed with a run-scoring single and the Vikings led 1-0.

Beloit did not have a runner reach third base in the game, but the Bucs did threaten in the ninth after Emory Nelms had a two-out double. After a walk, Doares got Will Mack to fly out to end the game.

Alex Norman went the distance for Beloit and took the loss.

In the nightcap, the Vikings rallied late but came up short. Grant Henrickson went 8 1/3 innings to get the win, and Al Loth got the final two outs to pick up the save.

Kelton Jenkins pitched well for Lawrence and took the loss after six innings of work.

Sam Kossow, Harris and Birch all had two hits for the Vikings, and Kossow smacked his first career homer.

Beloit led 4-0 heading to the eighth, but Lawrence loaded the bases on singes from Harris, Bohling and Birch. Phil Wisniewski grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Harris and trim the lead to 4-1. Henrickson then got Jake Gordon to ground into another fielder’s choice to end the inning.

Lawrence cut the lead to 4-2 when Kossow blasted a one-out solo homer in the ninth. Loth came on in relief and got Tanner DeBettencourt to ground out for the second out of the inning. Loth then walked Harris and Henriques, but he struck out Bohling to end the game.

Lawrence wraps up the four-game series with a doubleheader at Beloit on Sunday.

Game one box score

Game two box score

Henriques, Gay sweep MWC weekly baseball honors

Lawrence University baseball standouts Gabe Henriques and Atley Gay swept the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week awards on Monday.

Henriques (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) was named Player of the Week and Gay (Manitowoc, Wis./Roncalli) was chosen as Pitcher of the Week.

Henriques, a junior infielder, led Lawrence to a 6-0 record on the week by hitting .500 (10-for-20). Henriques scored 10 runs and collected two doubles, a triple and a homer. Henriques, who drove in seven runs in the six games, had a .630 on-base percentage for an impressive 1.130 OPS.

Henriques is batting a team-high .381 on the season with four doubles, four triples, a homer and 20 RBIs.

Gay, a freshman right-hander, picked up his first collegiate win and his first collegiate save during the week.

Gay went the distance in Lawrence’s 11-1 win at Finlandia University this past Saturday to get his first win. He allowed two hits, struck out four and didn’t walk a batter. Gay earned his first save by pitching the final inning of Lawrence’s 8-5 victory over the Milwaukee School of Engineering last Wednesday.

For the week, Gay pitched eight innings and posted a 1.12 earned run average. On the season, Gay has thrown 27 innings and lowered his ERA to 4.33.

The Vikings picked up a doubleheader sweep of MSOE last Wednesday and then swept doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday at Finlandia.

The Vikings return to action on Saturday when they host Beloit College.

Lawrence takes two from Finlandia

HANCOCK, Mich. — The Lawrence University baseball team pushed its winning streak to six games by sweeping a nonconference doubleheader on Sunday from Finlandia University by the scores of 10-3 and 12-8 at Driving Park.

In the opener, Lawrence (10-12) jumped on Finlandia early by scoring six times in the top of the first. That was more than enough for Lawrence starter Kelton Jenkins. He went six innings, allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked five.

Darvis PridGeon went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs for the Vikings. Alex Brewer hit his first homer of the season, drove in two runs and scored a pair of runs. Brewer’s homer was a two-run shot in the fifth.

Finlandia (4-24) took an early 3-1 lead in the nightcap, but Lawrence blew the Lions away with 11 runs over the final three innings. Lawrence picked up 10 hits in the nightcap, and the Lions committed nine errors.

Harris, Phil Wisniewski and Jake Gordon all had two hits for Lawrence. Wisniewski and Brewer both drove in two runs for the Vikings. Brewer hit his second home run of the day, a two-run blast in the fifth.

Drew Doares made the start and pitched 5 1/3 innings to pick up the win. He allowed three hits, struck out nine and walked five. Finlandia scored five times in the seventh against John Doran came in and struck out the final two hitters of the contest.

Game one box score

Game two box score

Vikings sweep doubleheader from Finlandia

HANCOCK, Mich. — The Lawrence University baseball team recorded a nonconference doubleheader sweep of Finlandia University at Driving Park on Saturday.

Lawrence (8-12) won the opener 14-8 and took the nightcap 11-1.

In the first game, the Vikings piled up 11 hits and took advantage of six Finlandia errors.

Davide Harris went 3-for-4 and scored three runs to spark the Lawrence offense. Freshman Jake Gordon had one of the biggest games of his young career by going 3-for-4, scoring three runs and driving in four runs. Gordon hit his first career homer, a three-run blast in the fifth.

Gabe Henriques drove in three runs, including two with a homer in the fifth, and Sam Kossow drove in a pair for the Vikings.

The Vikings built a 12-1 lead through five innings in support of starter Davis Ogilvie. He went 4 1/3 innings, allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked seven to pick up the first win of his collegiate career.

Atley Gay went the distance and tossed a three-hitter to lead Lawrence to the victory in the nightcap. He struck out four and did not walk a batter to pick up his first collegiate victory.

The Vikings pounded out 18 hits against three Finlandia pitchers. Senior Eric Bohling went 4-for-4 and drove in four runs to pace the Vikings. Bohling smacked his first homer of the season, a three-run shot in the fourth.

Alex Brewer and Henriques both went 3-for-4, and Henriques and Gordon both drove in a pair of runs.

Lawrence led 6-0 before Finlandia (4-22) got a run in the bottom of the fourth, but the Vikings continued to pull away with two more runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh.

Game one box score

Game two box score

 

Vikings sweep doubleheader from MSOE

The Lawrence University baseball team got solid pitching and used an opportunistic offense to record a nonconference doubleheader sweep from the Milwaukee School of Engineering on Wednesday at Whiting Field.

Lawrence (6-12) won the opener 8-5 and took the nightcap 6-4.

In the opener, Gabe Henriques went 3-for-3 and Tanner DeBettencourt drove in three runs for the Vikings. Joel Birch went 2-for-4, and Birch and Eric Bohling drove in two runs apiece.

Freshman pitcher Kelton Jenkins made the start and picked up his first career victory. Jenkins pitched six innings, allowed six hits, struck out two and walked four. Freshman Atley Gay worked out of a jam in the seventh to record his first career save.

Lawrence jumped on MSOE (3-21) by scoring five times in the bottom of the first. Lawrence had four hits in the inning but took advantage of two big MSOE errors. Birch had a run-scoring single to start the scoring, but the big blow was DeBettencourt’s three-run bases-clearing double.

Lawrence led 6-1 when Michael Ricciardi hit a grand slam in the fifth to slice the lead to 6-5.

The Vikings came right back and scored twice in the bottom of the sixth. MSOE had another error to start that inning, and the Vikings made the Raiders pay again. Bohling had a run-scoring groundout, and Birch had another run-scoring single to push the lead to 8-5. Both of the runs in that inning were unearned.

Gay hit a batter and gave up a single in the seventh, but he got Ricciardi to hit into a fielder’s choice and then induced Adam Vlaj to fly out to end the game.

In the nightcap, Henriques went 2-for-2, scored three runs and drove in a pair to pace the Lawrence offense. Davide Harris went 2-for-4 and scored a pair of run for the Vikings. Bohling had one hit in the nightcap and drove in three runs.

Freshman pitcher Andrew Doares made the start and picked up his first career win. Doares went 5 1/3 innings, allowed nine hits, struck out one and walked one. Alex Brewer got the final five outs for his second save of the season.

Lawrence jumped on the Raiders for a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Harris singled and Henriques walked to start the frame, and both runners moved up on a double steal. A throwing error on the play allowed Harris to score, and Henriques came in on Bohling’s sacrifice fly.

Lawrence made it 4-0 in the third, and it was Harris and Henriques who got the rally going again. Harris got a one-out single, and Henriques followed with a triple to make it 3-0. Henriques then scored on Bohling’s groundout for a 4-0 lead.

MSOE cut the lead in half with two runs in the top of the fifth, but the Vikings struck for two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Jake Gordon walked to start the inning, and he scored on Henriques’ double to push the lead to 5-2. Bohling followed with a double in the left field corner to score Henriques and put the Vikings up 6-4.

MSOE added two more runs in the sixth, but Brewer came on to strike out Walter Ziller and got James Heinritz to hit into a fielder’s choice to limit the damage. Brewer then worked a perfect seventh to complete the save.

Lawrence returns to action with four nonconference games at Finlandia University on Saturday and Sunday.

Game one box score

Game two box score