Baseball

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — The North Central College baseball team rolled to a 30-0 win over Lawrence University in a nonconference season opener on Saturday at Lenz Field.

The Cardinals rapped out 23 hits and scored in every inning but the ninth. North Central led 11-0 after three innings and capped its offensive outburst with a nine-run sixth frame. Chris Hill went 4-for-4 and drove in five runs to lead North Central.

Lawrence was limited to two hits, including the first career hit for freshman Matthew Holliday. Luke Zablocki had the other hit for the Vikings.

Bryan Polowy allowed one hit over six innings, struck out 10 and did not walk a batter en route to the win. Freshman Zach Rabideau took the loss for Lawrence.

Box score

APPLETON, Wis. — It’s a bit of an all-or-nothing proposition for the Lawrence University baseball team.

On one hand, the Vikings bring an experienced team to the field with nine seniors when they open this season Saturday in Jacksonville, Ill. On the flip side, Lawrence will have to rely on nine freshmen to play key roles this spring.

“This is an interesting group because we are really experienced, and we’re really young at the same time,” said head coach Jason Anderson, who is starting his seventh season at Lawrence with a squad of 19 players.

Lawrence, which posted a 6-27 record a season ago, returns an experienced group in the field and on the mound, but the rookies were quickly incorporated into the team. The Vikings manned a concession stand at Lambeau Field in the fall, and the team bonded while selling hot dogs, nachos and soda.

“They are pretty close off the field. That’s been a nice bonus from doing all the fundraising stuff we’ve done,” Anderson said. “It was a chance for those guys to get to know each other and work together.”

The core of Lawrence’s team is led by senior center outfielder Jake Gordon, who received a bevy of postseason awards in 2014. Gordon was named to the All-Midwest Conference North Division team, earned second-team D3baseball.com All-Central Region accolades and was chosen for the Jewish Sports Review All-America team.

Gordon hit .400 last season with nine doubles, one triple, one homer, a team-high 30 runs scored and 14 runs batted in. Gordon compiled a team-record 54 hits and posted 16 multi-hit games. He also tied the school record with five hits in a game in Lawrence’s 24-11 win over Carroll.

While Gordon helps set the table, senior designated hitter Luke Zablocki can power the Lawrence offense. Zablocki, the starting right tackle on the football team, hit .354 last season with eight doubles, four homers and 19 RBIs in a season limited to 19 games by injury.

Lawrence also returns senior Joel Birch in left field, and either senior Tim Kinsella or freshmen Zach Rabideau or Carl Olsen will play in right.

The infield returns senior shortstop Davis Ogilvie and sophomore second baseman Brandon Klar. Ogilvie hit .253 last season with a pair of homers and 11 RBIs, and Klar hit .209. Matthew Holliday, who hails from Hong Kong, looks like the starter at third, and rookie Anthony Ortiz will see serious time on the infield as well. Freshman Jake Mills could be the guy to replace the graduated Sam Kossow at first.

“Between Hootie (Zablocki’s nickname), Holliday and Davis, we have guys who can drive runs in,” Anderson said. “All three of those guys are legitimate power guys.”

There is no question a rookie will be behind the plate since the only two catchers on the squad are freshmen Travis Weber and Kyle Duex. In addition to their fellow freshmen, they will be catching an experienced group of pitchers.

The Vikings return seniors Drew Doares, Philip Clark, Atley Gay and Kelton Jenkins to the mound. The hard-throwing Ogilvie figures to be the Vikings’ closer.

“That’s our core group of pitchers,” Anderson said. “They have all pitched a ton since they were freshmen, and they will all pitch on the weekends.”

Doares had a team-best three wins last season, and Ogilvie held opponents to just a .250 batting average. Another season with pitching coach Chris Krepline should help the returning hurlers, and Anderson is very high on Holliday and Rabideau.

“The freshmen are playing better than expected,” Anderson said. “It doesn’t seem like they are freshmen. However, we haven’t played any games yet so we are cautiously optimistic about those guys. All of them are going to have to play in some way shape or form.”

While Anderson likes his tight-knit squad, freshmen can still play like, well, freshmen.

“We certainly could be very good, but when half of your team is freshmen, you don’t know until you get out there,” Anderson said. “This group is very focused in practice, and I’ve been very happy with that. We’ve gotten better every day in practice, and that’s all I can ask for.”

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University baseball standout Jake Gordon has been named to the Jewish Sports Review All-America Team.

Gordon (Wilmette, Ill./North Shore Country Day), a junior center fielder, was chosen for the first team. The team was made up of players from NCAA Division II and III and the NAIA.

Gordon led Lawrence with a .400 batting average to go along with nine doubles, one triple, one homer, a team-high 30 runs scored and 14 runs batted in. Gordon is the first Lawrence player to hit .400 since star first baseman Tommy Schmidt hit .439 back in 2006.

Gordon, who was the lone player from a Wisconsin school to be selected, piled up a school-record 54 hits in 33 games this season and had 16 multi-hit games. Gordon broke the record of third baseman/shortstop Andrew Wong, who set the record of 52 hits in 34 games back in 2005. Gordon also tied the school record of five hits in a game in Lawrence’s 24-11 win at Carroll University on April 16.

Gordon, who compiled a .439 on-base percentage and .989 fielding percentage, also swiped a team-best 10 bases.

This is Gordon’s third postseason honor in 2014. Gordon also earned All-Midwest Conference North Division honors and was a D3baseball.com All-Central Region selection.

This marks the second consecutive year a Lawrence player has been selected for the Jewish Sports Review All-America Team. Outfielder Davide Harris was selected in 2013 after a stellar senior season.

APPLETON, Wis. — Linfield College will defend its title as the Wildcats head the list of teams playing in the finals of the 2014 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.

Eight teams are headed to Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium for the double-elimination tournament that begins Friday, May 23, at 10 a.m. The 39th edition of the tournament runs through Tuesday, May 27, and this marks the 15th consecutive year the finals will be contested in Appleton. The championship is hosted by Lawrence University, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the Fox Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Defending national champion Linfield (37-7) knocked off the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point 4-2 in the championship game of the West Regional. Second-ranked Linfield, coached by former Major League Baseball player Scott Brosius, is attempting to become the fourth team to win back-to-back national titles (Cal State-Stanislaus 1976-77, Rowan 1978-79 and Marietta 2011-12). The Wildcats are making consecutive trips to the finals for the first time, and this is their fourth appearance overall.

With the Mideast Regional extending into Monday, Salisbury University (37-7) was the final team to advance to Appleton. The Sea Gulls completed an unbeaten run through the tournament with a 3-2 victory over Case Western Reserve University in the regional title game. The Sea Gulls are making their fourth trip to the finals and their first visit to Fox Cities Stadium since 2011.

The “home” team for the tournament is the UW-Whitewater (40-7), which is the lone Wisconsin team to make the final eight. The Warhawks, making their sixth appearance in the finals and the first since 2011, won the Midwest Regional with a perfect 4-0 record. The 2005 NCAA Division III champion, Whitewater rallied to defeat Adrian College 5-4 in the regional title game.

The University of Southern Maine (35-13) joins Linfield as the other school earning its second consecutive trip to the finals. Southern Maine downed Endicott College 11-1 to win the New England Regional and earn its eighth trip to the finals. The Huskies, winners of the national title in 1991 and 1997, advanced all the way to the 2013 national title game before falling 4-1 to Linfield.

The University of St. Thomas (Minn.), a two-time national champion, is back in the finals after winning the Central Regional with a 9-4 victory over Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. The Tommies, winners of the national title in 2001 and 2009, are back in the finals for the sixth time and the first time since 2012.

No team coming to Appleton has more experience in the finals than the State University of New York-Cortland (35-8), which is making its 12 trip to the finals. The Red Dragons dispatched Kean University 10-1 in the championship game of the New York Regional. Cortland State, which is playing in Appleton for the eighth time, is in pursuit of its first national title.

Baldwin Wallace University (29-18) is a true Cinderella story as it makes its first appearance in the finals. The Yellowjackets finished fourth in the Ohio Athletic Conference but received at at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. Baldwin Wallace, which has a school-record 29 wins on the season, then went on to defeat Wesleyan (Conn.) University 9-7 in the title game of the Mid-Atlantic Regional.

Emory University (34-11) punched its ticket to Appleton with a 5-2 victory over Bridgewater College in the South Regional final. The Eagles are making their fourth trip to the finals and their first trip since 2007 when Emory lost to Kean University 5-4 in the national championship game.

Friday’s Schedule

10 a.m., St. Thomas (Minn.) vs. Linfield

1:15 p.m., Baldwin Wallace vs. Emory

4:30 p.m., Salisbury vs. Cortland State

7:45 p.m., UW-Whitewater vs. Southern Maine

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University standout Jake Gordon has been named to the D3baseball.com All-Central Region team.

Gordon (Wilmette, Ill./North Shore Country Day), a junior center fielder, was chosen for the second team.

Gordon led the team with a .400 batting average to go along with nine doubles, one triple, one homer, a team-high 30 runs scored and 14 runs batted in. Gordon is the first Lawrence player to hit .400 since all-conference first baseman Tommy Schmidt hit .439 back in 2006.

Gordon piled up a school-record 54 hits in 33 games this season and had 16 multi-hit games. Gordon broke the record of all-conference third baseman/shortstop Andrew Wong, who set the record of 52 hits in 34 games back in 2005. Gordon also tied the school record of five hits in a game in Lawrence’s 24-11 win at Carroll University on April 16.

Gordon, who compiled a .439 on-base percentage and .989 fielding percentage, also swiped a team-best 10 bases.

Gordon is Lawrence’s first all-region selection since outfielder Robert Rashid was selected for the American Baseball Coaches Association All-Central Region team in 2010.

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University baseball standout Jake Gordon has been named to the All-Midwest Conference North Division team.

Gordon (Wilmette, Ill./North Shore Country Day), a junior center fielder, was chosen for the all-conference team for the first time after an outstanding season.

Gordon led the team with a .400 batting average to go along with nine doubles, one triple, one homer, a team-high 30 runs scored and 14 runs batted in. Gordon becomes the first Lawrence player to hit .400 since all-conference first baseman Tommy Schmidt hit .439 back in 2006.

Gordon piled up a school-record 54 hits in 33 games this season and had 16 multi-hit games. Gordon broke the record of all-conference third baseman/shortstop Andrew Wong, who set the record of 52 hits in 34 games back in 2005. Gordon also tied the school record of five hits in a game in Lawrence’s 24-11 win at Carroll University on April 16.

Gordon, who compiled a .439 on-base percentage and .989 fielding percentage, also swiped a team-best 10 bases. In 16 conference, games, Gordon hit .339 with five doubles, a homer and six runs batted in.

WAUKESHA, Wis. — The Lawrence University baseball team ended its season on Thursday with a 10-0 Midwest Conference loss to Carroll University at Frame Park.

Carroll (13-21, 7-9 MWC) jumped out to an 8-0 lead after four innings, and limited Lawrence (6-27, 3-13) to only six hits in its season finale.

Ethan Urban went 4-for-5, and Dylan Grove and Clayton Schmitt both drove in a pair of runs for Carroll.

Tyler Robers allowed five hits over six innings to earn the victory. Atley Gay allowed eight hits five runs in 2.1 innings and took the loss.