Baseball

CHICAGO, Ill. — The University of Chicago baseball team scored two runs in the bottom of sixth inning Sunday and went on to a 3-1 nonconference victory over Lawrence University in a game cut short by rain.

The second game of the doubleheader was canceled.

The game was tied 1-1 headed to the bottom of the sixth when Chicago (9-8) got a two-run double from Nicholas Toomey to surge ahead. The Vikings (6-9) batted in the top half of the seventh, and the game was called after that.

Lucas Friss allowed six hits over seven innings, striking out four and walking two, to pick up the win for the Maroons.

Kyle Duex went the distance for the Vikings and took the loss despite allowing just two earned runs.

Lawrence grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth after Carl Olsen reached on a fielder’s choice. Zach Rabideau followed with a single, and Anthony Ortiz singled to score Olsen.

Chicago tied it with an unearned run in the bottom half of the fifth. Lawrence had a chance to take the lead back in the top of the sixth. The Vikings loaded the bases on singles by Matt Holliday and Travis Weber and an error, but the Maroons forced a run out at the plate and got another ground ball to end the inning.

Box score

GALESBURG, Ill. — The Knox College baseball team got a walk-off homer in the nightcap Saturday to complete a nonconference doubleheader sweep of Lawrence University at Blodgett Field.

Knox won the opener 11-1 in seven innings and took the nightcap 4-2.

In the second game, the score was tied 2-2 heading to the bottom of the ninth when Dan Rothbauer came on in relief for the Vikings (6-8). Rothbauer retired the first two hitters when Tristyn Ruiz drew a walk. Drake Sykes followed with a two-run homer to win it for Knox (4-10).

Chris Shaw was stellar as the Vikings starter, allowing just one earned run over eight innings. He gave up six hits, struck out eight and walked five.

Lawrence grabbed the lead in the top of the fourth when Brandon Klar, just back from injury, blasted a lead-off homer for a 1-0 edge. Rothbauer followed with a double, and Matt Holliday singled to put runners at the corners. Rothbauer then scored on Travis Weber’s double-play ball to put the Vikings up 2-0.

Knox picked up single runs in the fourth and seventh to tie it at 2-2.

Kam Wells went 3-for-4 in the opener for Knox. Jack Barreca worked the final 1.1 innings to get the win in relief.

In the first game, Alec Jordan went the distance for Knox and limited the Vikings to just five hits. He struck out seven and walked one.

Matt McCaffrey went 4-for-4 and drove in three runs, and Matt Mueller was 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Prairie Fire.

Zach Rabideau allowed five runs in 2.1 innings and took the loss.

Game one box score

Game two box score

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University baseball standout Matt Holliday has been chosen as the Midwest Conference Player of the Week following the Vikings’ spring break trip to Florida.

Holliday (Hong Kong/International), a sophomore infielder/pitcher, led the Vikings to a 5-0 record during the second half of Lawrence’s spring break trip. Holliday batted .600 by going 9-for-15 with two doubles, a homer and seven runs batted in.

Holliday compiled a .739 on-base percentage and .933 slugging percentage. He had three hits in a 9-2 win over St. Olaf College and had another three-hit game with a pair of doubles in a 14-6 win over Keuka College. Holliday homered in Lawrence’s 5-3 win over Keuka in the opening game of that doubleheader.

Holliday also went 2-0 in his two pitching starts in Florida. Holliday had a 4.91 earned run average over 11 innings of work against St. Olaf and Crown College.

In a 9-2 win over St. Olaf, Holliday allowed seven hits, struck out two and walked one over six innings. In a 10-6 win over Crown, Holliday allowed six hits over five innings while striking out five and walking two.

On the season, Holliday is batting .475 with five doubles, one triple, one homer and 11 RBIs.

The Vikings are 6-6 this season and return to action on Saturday when they host UW-Platteville in a nonconference doubleheader at Whiting Field.

AUBURNDALE, Fla. — The Lawrence University baseball team completed its spring break trip with a nonconference doubleheader sweep of Crown College on Saturday.

Lawrence won the opener 10-5 and took the nightcap 10-6. The Vikings (6-6) finished with a 5-3 record on their trip to Florida.

In the opener, Matt Holliday paced the Lawrence offense by going 3-for-4 with two doubles, three runs batted in and two runs scored. Anthony Ortiz and Kyle Duex both went 2-for-4 for Lawrence, and Dan Rothbauer reached base in all five of his plate appearances with three runs scored and two RBIs.

Lawrence broke on top with four runs in the top of the second. The Vikings loaded the bases, and Zach Rabideau followed with a run-scoring single. Rothbauer smacked a two-run single, and Holliday followed with an RBI single for a 4-0 lead.

Crown (4-4) cut the lead in half with a pair of runs in the third, but the Vikings got those back in the fourth on Holliday’s RBI double and Andrew Lauber’s run-scoring groundout.

The Storm trimmed the lead to 6-5 with three more runs in the bottom half of the inning, but that was it for Crown. Lawrence added two insurance runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to seal the win. Lauber had a run-scoring single in the sixth, and Holliday smacked an RBI double in the seventh.

In the nightcap, Lawrence rallied from a 4-0 deficit for the victory. Crown scored four times in the top of the first, but the Vikings took the lead for good in the third.

Lawrence benefited from nine walks and five hit batsmen by the Crown pitching staff.

The Vikings loaded the bases on two hit batsmen and a walk, and Travis Weber and Lauber both drew bases-loaded walks to cut the lead to 4-2. Duex was hit by a pitch to force in another run, and Dante Reese followed with a two-run single to give Lawrence a 5-4 lead.

Lawrence added five more runs in the fourth to take command. Two hit batsmen and a walk loaded the bases again, and Weber was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Lauber then drilled a two-run double to put the Vikings up 8-4. Duex followed with a run-scoring single, and Reese had an RBI groundout for a 10-4 lead.

Crown added two runs in the seventh to complete the scoring.

Game one box score

Game two box score

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The Lawrence University baseball team rallied for a win in game one Thursday and then powered its way to a victory in the nightcap to sweep a nonconference doubleheader from Keuka College.

Lawrence won the opener 5-3 and took the nightcap 14-6.

In the first game, Travis Weber went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs to pace Lawrence (4-6). Nolan Spencer, Dan Rothbauer and Matt Holliday all had two hits for the Vikings.

Zach Rabideau pitched the final two innings and picked up the win for Lawrence. Cullen Ellis made the start and allowed four hits and three runs over five innings.

The Vikings trailed 3-0 before getting two runs in the top of the fifth. Dante Reese and Spencer reached to start the inning and both scored on Weber’s two-run single to cut the lead to 3-2.

Lawrence tied it at 3-3 in the sixth when Anthony Ortiz walked and came around to score on Spencer’s triple.

The Vikings grabbed the lead in the seventh with four consecutive hits to start the inning. Rothbauer and Holliday started the inning with singles, and Weber and Andrew Lauber followed with run-scoring singles to put the Vikings up 5-3.

Rabideau worked around a walk and a hit batsman in the seventh to secure the win.

In the nightcap, Lawrence pounded out 22 hits in the nine-inning contest.

Spencer, Weber, Lauber, Ortiz and Carl Olsen all collected three hits for the Vikings. Rabideau drove in three runs, and Matt Holliday, Spencer, Lauber and Olsen all drove in a pair.

Chris Shaw allowed four hits over six innings to pick up his second win of the season. He struck out four and walked three.

Keuka (3-2) led 1-0 heading to the bottom of the second when the Vikings exploded for six runs. The big blow in the inning was Rabideau’s two-run double.

The Vikings added two more runs in the third, with Ortiz picking up a run-scoring triple, to push the lead to 8-3.

Holliday hit his first home run of the season, a two-run blast, to highlight a five-run fifth inning that gave Lawrence a 13-3 lead. Keuka picked up three runs in the sixth, but the Vikings added an insurance run in the seventh.

Game one box score

Game two box score

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — A pair of four-run innings powered the Lawrence University baseball team to a 9-2 nonconference win over St. Olaf College on Monday.

The Vikings scored four times in the fifth to take control and four more runs in the ninth to seal the win.

Matt Holliday went 3-for-3 with a run batted in and three runs scored to pace Lawrence’s 15-hit attack. Holliday also pitched the first six innings, giving up seven hits and two runs while striking out two and walking one, to get the win. Dan Rothbauer worked the final three innings to pick up his first collegiate save.

Andrew Lauber, Travis Weber, Carl Olsen, Anthony Ortiz and Zach Rabideau all had two hits for the Vikings (2-6). Lauber drove in three runs, and Weber drove in a pair.

The Vikings grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second when Holliday was hit by a pitch and later scored on Olsen’s single. Lawrence then pulled away in the fifth.

Singles from Ortiz and Rabideau put two runners aboard, and Rothbauer and Holliday followed with run-scoring singles to put the Vikings up 3-0. Weber followed with a two-run double to put the Vikings up 5-0.

The Oles (2-3) struck back for two runs in the bottom of the fifth, but the Vikings sealed the win with four runs in the ninth.

Nolan Spencer’s double, Rabideau’s single and an intentional walk to Holliday loaded the bases with one out. Lauber then smacked a two-out, three-run triple to put the Vikings up 8-2. Olsen followed with a single to score Lauber to complete the scoring.

Thomas Peterson worked the first five innings and took the loss for St. Olaf.

Box score

AUBURNDALE, Fla. — A five-run second inning proved to be the difference as Bowdoin College topped Lawrence University 9-3 in a nonconference game on Sunday.

Sean Mullane, Brandon Lope, Cody Todesco all had two hits apiece to pace the Polar Bears (5-0). Richard Arms allowed one run over five innings to get the win for Bowdoin.

Kyle Duex gave up 12 hits and seven runs over seven innings and took the loss for Lawrence (1-6).

Freshman Nolan Spencer went 3-for-5 and scored a run for the Vikings, and fellow rookie Andrew Lauber went 2-for-4 and drove in a run.

Lawrence grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Spencer led off the game with a double and later scored on Dan Rothbauer’s ground ball.

Bowdoin then scored five times in the second on six hits with the big blow being Peter Cimini’s two-run double. The Polar Bears made it 7-1 with a pair of runs in the fourth, but the Vikings helped them out with a pair of hit batsmen and a walk.

Lawrence added single runs in the sixth and eighth. Lauber picked up a run-scoring single in the sixth, and Holliday singled and later scored on a wild pitch in the eighth.

Lawrence returns to action on Monday with a nonconference game against St. Olaf College.

Box score

AUBURNDALE, Fla. — The Hamilton College baseball team took a pair of games from Lawrence University in a nonconference doubleheader on Friday as the Vikings started their spring break trip.

The Continentals won the opener 9-3 and took the nightcap 17-6.

In the first game, Hamilton (5-3) scored nine runs on only eight hits as the Vikings (1-5) committed seven errors. Ryan Wolfsburg went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs for Hamilton. Andrew Haser worked 5 2/3 innings to pick up the win.

Nolan Spencer and Zach Rabideau both went 2-for-3 and Spencer scored a pair of runs for Lawrence.

The game was tied 2-2 after three innings, but Hamilton scored four runs on five hits and three errors in the fourth to take the lead for good. The Continentals added three more runs in the sixth to pull away.

In the nightcap, Hamilton collected 14 hits, and Lawrence pitchers issued 10 walks. Wolfsburg went 3-for-4 to lead Hamilton, and Haser hit a grand slam in an eight-run second inning.

Dan DePaoli pitched five innings to pick up the win, and Cullen Ellis worked one-plus inning and took the loss.

Dan Rothbauer and Travis Weber both went 2-for-4 to lead Lawrence, and Rothbauer drove in a pair of runs.

Lawrence led 3-0 after the top of the first thanks to Weber’s run-scoring triple, but the Vikings gave up four runs in the bottom of the inning and eight more in the second.

Game one box score

Game two box score

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — It was a rough Sunday afternoon for the Lawrence University baseball team, which dropped a nonconference doubleheader to Elmhurst College at Lenz Field.

Elmhurst (3-0) won the opener 19-3 and took the nightcap 12-2.

Cullen Ellis made the start in the first game and took the loss for the Vikings (1-3), who committed multiple errors.

Lawrence got all three of its runs in the fifth inning when the Vikings loaded the bases with the help of Andrew Lauber’s double. Cole Erickson then smacked a bases-clearing triple for all three of Lawrence’s runs.

The defense also struggled in the second game for starter Kyle Duex, who took the loss despite allowing just two earned runs.

Anthony Ortiz, Erickson and Matthew Holliday all had two hits apiece for the Vikings in the nightcap.

Lawrence again scored its only runs in the fifth inning. Erickson had singled and come around to score to get Lawrence on the board, and Ortiz then came to plate. Ortiz’s fly ball dropped in, and he streaked around the bases for an inside-the-park homer, the second round-tripper of his career.

Lawrence is off until March 18 when the Vikings open an eight-game spring break stretch in Winter Haven, Fla.

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — The Lawrence University baseball team pounded out 18 hits and rolled to a 16-9 nonconference win over Carleton College on Saturday at Lenz Field.

The Vikings (1-1) scored 13 runs in a three-inning stretch to break the game open. Sophomore Chris Shaw went 5 2/3 innings in his Lawrence debut to earn the victory. He allowed six hits and six runs while striking out six.

Rookie outfielder Andrew Lauber had a big day as he went 2-for-3 with a triple and three runs batted in for the Vikings. Lawrence’s Travis Weber and Dan Rothbauer had three hits apiece, and Rothbauer stole three bases.

Anthony Ortiz, Carl Olsen, Matthew Holliday and Kyle Duex all had a pair of hits for the Vikings, and Ortiz and Olsen each drove in a pair of runs.

The Vikings trailed 1-0 when they scored four times in the second on four hits, including Duex’s run-scoring single, and an error. Lawrence stretched the lead to 8-1 with four more runs in the third with Lauber and Olsen both smacking RBI singles.

Lawrence widened the margin to 13-1 with five more runs in the fourth. After Rothbauer walked to start the inning, Holliday followed with a double. Weber’s single scored Rothbauer, and Lauber followed with a two-run triple to put the Vikings up 11-1. Ortiz finished the inning with a two-run single.

Carleton scored six times in the sixth to narrow, the margin to 13-7, but the Vikings added two more runs in the sixth and another in the seventh to complete the scoring.