Baseball

Category: Baseball

Shoremen top Lawrence

AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Washington College baseball team pounded out 17 hits and went on to a 14-5 nonconference victory over Lawrence University on Thursday.

Shortstop Ryan Normoyle led the attack for Washington (7-5), which scored in every inning but the first. Normoyle went 4-for-6 and drove in six runs. John Rolewicz went 3-for-5, scored three times and drove in three runs.

Shortstop Gabe Henriques went 2-for-5 and scored two runs to lead the eight-hit attack for Lawrence (0-4).

The Shoremen led 1-0 and started to pull away with three runs in the third courtesy of Normoyle’s three-run homer. Washington added two runs in the each of the next five innings.

Hunter Draheim pitched the first six innings, striking out two and walking four, to pick up the win. Chad Skaer pitched the first five innings and took the loss.

Box score

McDaniel pulls away from Vikings

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The McDaniel College baseball team broke open a close game with four runs in the fifth inning and went on to a 16-4 nonconference victory over Lawrence University on Wednesday.

McDaniel led 4-2 but scored four times in the fifth to go up 8-2. The Green Terror (4-3), which had 20 hits, scored five times in the eighth and three more times in the ninth to seal the victory.

Andrew Monger pitched the first five innings and picked up the win. Andrew Wilt tossed seven innings and took the loss.

Luke Barthelmess and Robert Rashid both had two hits to pace the Vikings (0-3).

Brandon Kline went 4-for-6 and scored three times to pace McDaniel. James Chiorello went 3-for-6 and drove in four runs for the Green Terror.

Box score

Inside LU Athletics: Young baseball squad looks to move up in MWC

No magic elixir exists for team chemistry, but every coach wants it because they will tell you it is a key to winning.

Lawrence University baseball coach Jason Anderson can’t tell you quite yet how his young team will develop this season, but the Vikings already have a key ingredient for success.

“I think this is chemistry-wise one of the closest teams I’ve ever been a part of,” said Anderson, who just started his third season coaching the Vikings. “We had to go through a season last year that was very humbling. Going through something like that was difficult, but it was a bonding experience. We’ve gotten better because of that.”

The Vikings went 7-29 a season ago and finished 2-14 in Midwest Conference play. Lawrence was picked by North Division coaches to finish last in the division this spring.

“I think that we’re much better than where we were picked in the conference to be perfectly honest with you, but we haven’t shown that,” Anderson said.

“We’re still in the process of getting our numbers up, but we have some good talent on the team. We learned a lot from our season last year, and we’re ready to move forward.”

The Vikings will be led by the team’s one proven star, senior center fielder Robert Rashid. He was an all-conference and all-region selection last season and led the team in batting average (.366), runs (33), hits (48), doubles (10), triples (2) and stolen bases (32).

“He (Rashid) sets the tone in the classroom, in practice, in the weight room and on the field,” Anderson said. “I don’t expect anything less than his best year this year.”

The rest of the Vikings are still very young. Twenty-one of Lawrence’s 24 players are either freshmen or sophomores.

“We’re younger this year than we were last year,” Anderson said. “The good news about that is half of those young guys have been around for a year and have had significant playing time.”

The Vikings return a strong group of sophomores, led by middle infielders Gabe Henriques and Davide Harris. Henriques hit .259 last year and displayed defensive ability that could make him one of the league’s best shortstops. The speedy Harris, who swiped 13 bases a year ago, hit .247 in 2010 and will be the starter at second base.

Sophomore Phil Wisniewski is back at third, and Michael Baldino returns in left field. Wisniewski and fellow sophomore Alex Brewer also will see time behind the plate.

“We took some steps forward toward the end of last year,” Anderson said. “We have the ability in us, but we have to improve the consistency, which comes with age and experience.”

The pitching staff struggled to a team earned run average of 9.86 last season, but Lawrence should get a boost from the return of Eric Bohling and the additions of Brian King, Chad Skaer and Luke Barthelmess. Bohling missed all of last season with an arm injury, and he also will be in the mix to play on the infield with Skaer and freshman Sam Kossow.

The Vikings also have experienced arms in senior Andrew Wilt and sophomores Sam Ausloos and John Revis.

“I think after the spring break trip we’ll have a good idea of what we have,” Anderson said. “Everyone is going to get a chance to play and pitch.”

Tepper TKO’d

Rose Tepper never got a chance to take flight at the NCAA Division III Championships last weekend.

The sophomore from Mount Vernon, Iowa, was scheduled to compete in the high jump last Saturday at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, but was knocked out by a case of food poisoning.

Both Tepper and head coach Jason Fast became ill the day before, and Tepper was still far too sick to take part in the meet on Saturday morning.

Tepper qualified for the meet when she broke the school record with a jump of 5 feet, 5.75 inches, on Feb. 5. She was then injured in practice and missed the Midwest Conference Championships. Tepper had returned to practice the week of the NCAA meet and was ready to compete.

Murray smacks ‘slam’

Sophomore Shannon Murray hit her first grand slam in Lawrence’s 14-1 victory over Franciscan University in the softball team’s season opener on Tuesday.

It was the first grand slam by a Lawrence player since Alex Goodson hit one against Grinnell College on April 18, 2009.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a weekly 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.

Vikings drop pair in season-opening doubleheader

LAKELAND, Fla. – The Lawrence University baseball team dropped both games of its season-opening doubleheader with Franklin and Marshall College on Tuesday.

The Diplomats (5-5) won the opener 13-0 and took the nightcap 5-4 in eight innings.

In the nightcap, Lawrence (0-2) posted a 13-7 advantage in hits, but Franklin and Marshall scored twice in the top of the eighth to take the lead for good. The Vikings scored once in the bottom of the eighth but could not plate the equalizer.

Gabe Henriques went 3-for-5 in the nightcap to pace Lawrence’s attack. Robert Rashid, Eric Bohling, Tanner DeBettencourt and Michael Baldino had two hits apiece.

Bohling, coming back from an arm injury that forced him to miss the 2010 season, turned in a solid performance on the mound. He went six innings, allowed four hits, struck out five and walked one.

Rob Anderson went the distance, striking out seven and walking three, to pick up the win.

Franklin and Marshall scored twice in the third, but Lawrence tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Diplomats took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth, but Lawrence tied it in the bottom half of the inning. The score remained tied until the top of the eighth.

Will Benenson and Mike Amabile had two hits apiece for the Diplomats in the nightcap, and J.T. Triantos drove in a pair of runs.

In the opener, the Diplomats piled up 14 hits and scored in each of the first four innings to take command.

Eric Bornstein, Connor Devlin and Benenson all had two hits for Franklin and Marshall. Bornstein capped the Diplomats’ six-run fourth inning with a grand slam.

Brian King pitched the first three innings and took the loss for the Vikings. Eric Herbst went the distance, allowing only three hits, to pick up the win.

Game one box score

Game two box score

Lawrence’s Rashid named summer league Hitter of the Year

Lawrence University baseball standout Robert Rashid has been named the River Valley League Hitter of the Year.

Rashid (Evanston, Ill./Evanston) hit .382 and led the summer league in seven statistical categories. The Lawrence center fielder was tops in the league in hits (34), runs scored (29), runs batted in (23), triples (7), stolen bases (26), on-base percentage (.522) and slugging percentage (.551).

Rashid, who played for the Waves, was a first-team All-RVL selection.

The River Valley League is based in Dubuque, Iowa, and is make up of college baseball players from around the nation.

Rashid, who will be a senior in the fall, had a great 2010 season for Lawrence. He was a first-team All-Midwest Conference selection and earned third-team All-Central Region honors. Rashid also was chosen for the Central Region’s Gold Glove team.

Rashid hit a team-high .366 with 10 doubles, two triples and 23 RBIs for Lawrence. Rashid was one of the nation’s leaders in stolen bases per game. He swiped 32 bases in 36 games, an average of .889 per game. Rashid also led the Vikings with 33 runs scored.

Lawrence to host NCAA Division III Baseball Championship through 2013

Lawrence University will host the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship through 2013.

Lawrence, which was already tabbed to host the tournament in 2011, won a two-year bid to keep the event at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Lawrence, which co-hosts the event with the Fox Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau, served as the lone host institution for the first time in 2010.

The NCAA Division III Baseball Championship is now assured of a run of at least 14 years in the Fox Cities. The longest previous tenure for any host site was Marietta, Ohio, which hosted the first 12 championships from 1976-87. The championship also has been played in Bristol, Conn., Battle Creek, Mich., and Salem, Va.

The eight-team, double-elimination tournament has been played at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium since 2000. Fox Cities Stadium is the home of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, the Midwest League Class A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.

The 2010 tournament, which saw Illinois Wesleyan University defeat the State University of New York-Cortland for the championship, had an attendance of 27,176. That is the second-highest attendance in tournament history, trailing only the record of 29,543 at Fox Cities Stadium in 2003.

The tournament, which is always contested over five days surrounding Memorial Day weekend, came to the Fox Cities in 2000 and was hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for the first three years. Lawrence and UW-Oshkosh served as the co-hosts from 2003-09 before Lawrence became the lone host institution in 2010.

Rashid chosen for all-region baseball team

Lawrence University baseball standout Robert Rashid has been

Robert Rashid
Robert Rashid

selected for the American Baseball Coaches Association All-Central Region team.

Rashid (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township), a junior center fielder, was a third-team selection. Rashid also was chosen for the Gold Glove team.

Rashid, who was a first-team All-Midwest Conference selection, hit a team-high .366 with 10 doubles, two triples and 23 runs batted in.

Rashid was one of the nation’s leaders in stolen bases per game. He swiped 32 bases in 36 games, an average of .889 per game. Rashid also led the Vikings with 33 runs scored.

Rashid, in his first season playing center field, recorded a .970 fielding percentage. He committed only three errors all season.

This was Rashid’s first all-region selection.

Rashid named to all-conference baseball team

Lawrence University baseball standout Robert Rashid has been named to the All-Midwest Conference North Division team in a vote by league coaches.

Robert Rashid
Robert Rashid

Rashid (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township), a junior center fielder, was named to the team for the first time. Rashid hit .371 in 16 conference games with three doubles, one triple, one homer and 11 runs batted.

Rashid led the league with 13 stolen bases and scored a team-high 16 runs.

On the season, Rashid hit .366 in 36 games. He piled up 10 doubles, two triples, a homer and 23 RBIs. Rashid also broke the school season record with 32 stolen bases and ranks in the top 10 nationally in both stolen bases and stolen bases per game.

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