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GREEN LAKE, Wis. — Lawrence University golf standout John Pechan is tied for the lead after Saturday’s opening round of the Ripon College Invitational at the Golf Courses of Lawsonia.
Pechan fired a 3-under par 69 on the Woodlands Course and is tied for the lead with Robert O’Neill of Carthage College. Pechan fired a 34 on the front nine and carded a 35 on the back.
The 36-hole tournament wraps up on Sunday.
Zach Joseph shot 87 for Lawrence, Jon Mays carded an 88 and Nathan Fearing shot 90.
You don’t want to bet on what the lineup for the Lawrence University softball team is going to be from day to day because the odds of picking the right one are slightly better than winning the Powerball.
The Vikings have used 10 different lineups in their 14 games this season, a product of the versatility of the players and a search for a winning combination.
“If you sit and study the box scores, the lineups have changed quite a bit. We knew that was going to be the case going into the season,” Lawrence coach Kim Tatro said.
“We’re trying to figure out which lineup makes us most effective. As crazy as this may sound, because of the youth of the team and the versatility of the players, it may fluctuate as we go through the season.”
No player has batted in the same spot in the lineup in every game this season. To point out just how much things vary from game to game, the Vikings have had seven different players hit in the seventh spot in the lineup.
“I don’t know that we’ll develop the continuity we’ve had in previous years where it was here’s the lineup and you know what it is,” Tatro said. “I hope we can settle on something and run with it.”
The 13 players have seen action this season with a minimum of five games played but only six players have started all 14 games.
While Lawrence knew it had young but talented players returning, the Vikings have also received solid contributions from a number of freshmen. Former Manitowoc Roncalli star Cory Paquette, Alissa Geipel, Alex Chiodo and Brielle Bartes have all had key moments in games thus far this season. That means Tatro has options, and the Vikings take on a different look each time they take the field.
“We have people waiting in the wings to get opportunities and they deserve the opportunity if the people in those positions aren’t performing,” Tatro said.
Senior shortstop Carli Gurholt, a former star at Amherst High School, has been powering the offense with a team-high .452 batting average to go along with seven doubles, one triple, one home run and 14 runs batted in.
“Carli is hitting the ball a ton right now and we need her to do that,” Tatro said.
Sophomore Shannon Murray is hitting .409 with a team-high 15 RBI and has a team-high three victories on the mound. Junior Emily Perish has been Murray’s counterpart on the mound and is hitting .351 with 11 RBI.
Sophomore and Sturgeon Bay native Cathy Kaye also broke through on Monday at Alverno College, where she went 6-for-9 in the doubleheader with two doubles, two homers and five RBI. She raised her average 77 points on Monday to .333.
“Emily and Cathy have stepped it up a little bit and we need that. We need balanced production,” Tatro said. “Everyone needs to pull their weight offensively.”
The Vikings are hitting .288 as a team heading into this weekend’s Midwest Conference Classic in Janesville. Lawrence will face the five South Division teams over the course of two days, and the Vikings need a solid showing after dropping a pair of games to Beloit College to open conference play.
“You can throw the records out the window,” Tatro said of playing in the MWC Classic. “I think everybody has played a different schedule so it’s about who you’re going to match up with. Will it be their No. 1 against your No. 3 or whatever.
“It’s a game of momentum. If you open up and hit well and you get on a roll, that can carry over. Conversely, the other thing can happen if you struggle in the opening game.”
Streak snapped
Freshman Luke Barthelmess had his 14-game hit streak snapped when he went 0-for-4 in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader with Monmouth College. Barthlemess is hitting .321 on the season with a homer and four RBI.
Sophomore Davide Harris has an eight-game hit streak currently after picking up three hits in the doubleheader against Monmouth.
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.
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The Lawrence University softball team pounded out 24 hits and scored 22 runs en route to a nonconference doubleheader sweep of Alverno College on Monday.
Lawrence won the opener 11-6 and took the nightcap 11-8 at Alverno Field.
In the first game, Cathy Kaye paced Lawrence’s 11-hit attack by going 4-for-5 with a home run, two runs batted in and two runs scored. Carli Gurholt went 3-for-3 with a homer, drove in three runs and scored a pair of runs. Emily Perish was 3-for-4 and drove in three runs.
Lawrence (5-9) scored three times in the first courtesy of Gurholt’s three-run homer. The Vikings made it 5-0 in the third on Perish’s two-run single.
The Inferno (4-12) cut it to 5-4 in the bottom of the third, but Kaye belted a solo homer to make it 6-4 in the top of the fourth. Alverno tied it at 6-6 with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Lawrence took the lead for good by scoring twice in the top of the sixth. The Vikings scored after a walk and throwing error, and Kaye followed with a run-scoring double to give Lawrence a 8-6 lead.
Lawrence put the game away with three runs in the seventh. Perish hit a bullet down the right field line to score the first run, and Brielle Bartes capped the rally with a two-run single up the middle.
Perish pitched the first five innings to pick up the win. Jamie Villalobos went six innings and took the loss.
In the nightcap, Shannon Murray went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs for the Vikings. She also went the distance on the mound to pick up the win.
Kaye went 2-for-4, hit another homer, and drove in three runs in the second game. Bartes and Cory Paquette both had two hits apiece for the Vikings.
Lawrence raced out to a big lead before Alverno rallied in the nightcap.
Kaye led off the game with homer as part of a three-run first for the Vikings. Lawrence added another run in the second and picked up two more in the third to lead 6-1.
The Vikings then scored five times in the fifth on six hits and three Alverno errors. Kaye had a run-scoring double in the inning, and Perish picked up a RBI single to help Lawrence forge an 11-1 lead.
Alverno countered by scoring three times in the bottom of the fifth to cut it to 11-4. Chelsea Gulbronson then hit a three-run homer as part of a four-run sixth inning to trim the lead to 11-8.
Murray then set the Inferno down in order in the seventh to seal the win. Murray allowed 13 hits, struck out three and didn’t walk a batter. Emily Snell pitched the first five innings and took the loss.
WAUKESHA, Wis. — Sam Stevens ran to a third-place finish in the 1,500 meters on Saturday to pace the Lawrence University track and field team.
Stevens was a little more than two seconds off the winning time of 4:06.14 of UW-Oshkosh’s Brett DeNure. Stevens finished in 4:08.53.
M. Jay Bouska, competing in his first collegiate meet, took sixth place in the triple jump with a leap of 38 feet, 3.5 inches.
The women were paced by Rose Tepper, who placed eighth in the high jump with a leap of 4-11.
GRINNELL, Iowa — The Lawrence University baseball team put together a dramatic rally in the final inning Saturday and earned a split of a nonconference doubleheader with North Central (Minn.) University.
The games were played at Grinnell College due to unplayable field conditions in Appleton.
Lawrence rallied for sixth runs in the bottom of the seventh and took the nightcap 13-12. North Central won the opener 7-3.
The Vikings trailed 10-0 before they finally got on the board with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Richie Foreman had a run-scoring double and Phil Wisniewski added a run-scoring single in the inning.
Lawrence trimmed the lead to 12-7 with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Davide Harris, Eric Bohling and Foreman all had RBI singles in the inning.
Sam Kossow got the scoring started in the bottom of the seventh when he singled to drive in a run and cut the margin to 12-8. Wisniewski followed with a run-scoring double to make it 12-9.
Foreman’s sacrifice fly scored Kossow to cut it to 12-10. A walk and a hit batsman loaded the bases, and Gabe Henriques then singled to score Wisniewski.
Robert Rashid walked to force in pinch-runner Josh Graber and the game was tied 12-12. The Rams finally got an out on a force play at home, but Harris followed with a single to score Henriques with the game-winner.
Harris and Chad Skaer both had three hits to pace Lawrence’s 15-hit attack. Wisniewski and Foreman had two hits apiece and both drove in three runs.
Dan Salzbrenner pitched 3.2 innings of relief to earn his first collegiate victory. Ben Freitag took the loss in relief.
The Rams (4-8) scored four times in the top of the fifth to break open the first game. Juan Martinez, Joe Robinson, Isaac Gross and Jay Beichley all had two hits apiece for North Central, and Martinez and Beichley each drove in a pair of runs.
Rashid, Henriques and Alex Brewer all had two hits apiece for the Vikings (2-9).
Matt Huberty went the distance and picked up the win. Andrew Wilt pitched six innings, allowing 11 hits, and took the loss.
Lawrence led 2-1 after the first inning after singles by Rashid and Henriqes got the rally started. A balk and an error allowed Rashid to score, and Henriques came home on Gene Shipanik’s ground out.
North Central scored single runs in the second and third to take a 3-2 lead and then took control with four runs in the fifth. Kaleb Graham had a two-run single, and Ian Andrews and Jay Beichley both had run-scoring singles in the inning.
Lawrence added a run in its half of the fifth when Rashid doubled and scored on Henriques’ single but could get no closer.
Lawrence travels to the University of Chicago for a nonconference doubleheader on Sunday.
Thirty-four Lawrence University winter season student-athletes have been named to the Academic All-Midwest Conference team.
To be eligible for the team, a student must be at least a sophomore and have a minimum 3.2 grade point average.
The women’s swimming team led the way among Lawrence student-athletes with 12 selections.
Men’s basketball
Scott Beauchamp, sophomore, St. Paul, Minn., undecided
Erik Borresen, senior, West Bend, Wis., government
Conor Klusendorf, sophomore, Chicago, Ill., psychology
Men’s swimming
Peter Brengel, junior, Milwaukee, Wis., government
David Dulak, junior, Red Wing, Minn., biochemistry/Spanish
Cory Greguske, senior, Germantown, Wis., biology
Nick Johnson, senior, Rockford, Ill., biology/Spanish
Marc Pawlus, junior, Bartlett, Ill., government/economics
Caleb Stellmach, sophomore, St. Cloud, Minn., philosophy
Women’s swimming
Sarah Bostrom, senior, Bloomington, Minn., biochemistry/psychology
Jenna Budde, junior, Roscoe, Ill., psychology
Aisha Eiger, junior, Montclair, N.J., anthropology
Yagmur Esemen, sophomore, Taskinkoy, Nicosia, Cyprus, biology
Kelsey Gray, senior, West Lafayette, Ind., physics
Julia Heller, sophomore, Daly City, Calif., English/studio art
Molly Ingram, junior, Topeka, Kan., economics/anthropology
Skylar Kogelschatz, senior, Mount Pleasant, S.C., government
Katie Nelson, junior, Vienna, Va., art
Sarah Robinson, senior, Luxemburg, Wis., music
Sam Schilsky, sophomore, Pleasantville, N.Y., biology
Alicia Tape, sophomore, St. Louis, Mo., music performance
Men’s indoor track
Cam Blegen, junior, Whitefish Bay, Wis., biology
Tom Coben, junior, St. Paul, Minn., environmental science
Stan Jablonski, junior, River Hills, Wis., biology
Dan Moeller, senior, Decorah, Iowa, government
Jesse Peterson, senior, Monroe, Wis., psychology
Sam Stevens, sophomore, Suamico, Wis., biology
David Zane, senior, San Rafael, Calif., anthropology
Women’s indoor track
Amanda Dwyer, sophomore, Ralston, Neb., environmental science/biology
Kristina Reimer, junior, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, biology
Anne Sullivan, senior, Whitefish Bay, Wis., psychology
Rose Tepper, sophomore, Mount Vernon, Iowa, psychology
Rachel Young, junior, Minneapolis, Minn., Spanish/Chinese
Lin Zhao, junior, Tianjin, China, biology
It was like taking away the toys from the kids on Christmas morning.
Lawrence University track and field coach Jason Fast was all set to have his team do its first workout on newly renovated Whiting Field last week when the sleet and snow buried the blue track with a blanket of white.
“It was a pretty rough blow, not just to myself but to the whole team,” Fast said. “Everyone was pining to get out on the brand new track and run on it.”
The snowstorm that hit the Fox Valley last week has made the past few days difficult for the Lawrence track, baseball and softball teams. The Vikings have been forced to go back indoors to work out and schedules have been shuffled in an effort to get some games completed.
“It’s not the first time in my career that we’ve come back up north and haven’t been able to play,” said Lawrence baseball coach Jason Anderson, whose Vikings played eight games in Florida during spring break.
“Baseball is a game designed to play every day so you have to get playing. With Midwest Conference play coming up, we needed to get some games in.”
The Lawrence baseball team had been scheduled to play North Central (Minn.) University at Whiting Field on March 26 but those games were pushed back to Friday and Saturday. With the field still covered with snow, Anderson is taking his Vikings on the road to play some “home” games.
The Vikings are headed to Anderson’s hometown of Grinnell, Iowa, to play three games with North Central this weekend before heading to the University of Chicago for a doubleheader on Sunday.
Fast and softball coach Kim Tatro will not have to go quite that far to get some game competition.
The track team was scheduled to compete at the UW-Oshkosh Invitational on Saturday, but snow at Titan Stadium has moved that meet to Carroll University.
To prepare for that first outdoor competition, the Vikings got to work on Whiting Field. Track team members shoveled off 200 meters worth of three lanes and the high jump area on Monday and planned to clear the other 200 meters on Wednesday.
“The biggest thing was preparing for the outdoor season and keeping everyone on task. Whether we have a bunch of snow or not, the outdoor season is going to happen so we need to be ready,” Fast said.
“Seeing that devotion (shoveling the track) from the team shows we are ready to go outdoors and excited to get competing.”
The softball team has seen one doubleheader pushed back and will attempt to play at Marian University on Thursday. Lawrence is headed south to Beloit College, where there is virtually no snow, to play on Saturday. The Vikings are scheduled to play their home opener on April 6 against St. Norbert College.
The baseball team also used shovels to clear off as much of the Whiting Field infield as possible.
“The biggest issue we have on our field is the wind is crazy so we have a lot of drifting,” said Anderson, noting that there are drifts several feet high near the backstop. “That’s too much for us to move and it takes a lot longer to melt.”
Anderson’s goal is to play his first home game on April 10 when the Vikings open conference play with Beloit.
“The goal is to be able to play our conference home opener next weekend,” Anderson said. “If we get in four games this weekend of the five we have scheduled, I’ll be happy.”
Perfect start
Senior center fielder Robert Rashid picked up right where he left off last season. Rashid, one of the nation’s leaders in stolen bases in 2010, was 7-for-7 on steals in Lawrence’s first eight games. Rashid, who led the team with a .393 batting average during the spring break trip, stole a school season record 32 bases last season.
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.
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The Lawrence University baseball team finished its spring break trip on a winning note with a nonconference doubleheader split with D’Youville College.
Lawrence (1-7) dropped the opening game 9-7 and then walloped D’Youville (2-4) 24-7 in the nightcap.
Lawrence pounded out 23 hits in the second game. Sophomore Phil Wisniewski went 4-for-6 and drove in four runs to pace the Lawrence attack.
Robert Rashid went 3-for-3with a pair of triples and scored four runs for the Vikings. Luke Barthelmess, who smacked a homer, Gabe Henriques, Eric Bohling, Davide Harris and Darvis PridGeon all had two hits apiece.
Andrew Wilt went the distance to pick up the win. He struck out eight and walked three.
Lawrence scored at least two runs in each inning and capped the game with a seven-run outburst in the seventh.
The Vikings dropped the opener despite outhitting the Spartans 14-10.
Lawrence built a 3-1 lead after three innings, but D’Youville scored five in the fifth, two more in the sixth and another run in the seventh to take a 9-3 lead.
The Vikings rallied in the bottom of the seventh and had the bases loaded when D’Youville secured the final out.
Michael Baldino’s single scored Barthelmess to trim the lead to 9-4, and Wisniewski picked up a two-out single to score Rashid and Henriques.
Tanner DeBettencourt followed with a single to score Baldino to cut the lead to 9-7. A walk to Sam Kossow loaded the bases, but D’Youville got Barthelmess to fly out to end the game.
Baldino went 3-for-4 in the opener, and Harris, Wisniewski, Bohling and DeBettencourt all had two hits apiece.
CLERMONT, Fla. — The Lawrence University softball team exploded for six runs in the fourth inning and rolled to an 11-3 nonconference victory over Macalester College on Wednesday at the National Training Center.
Shortstop Carli Gurholt went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs batted in to lead the Vikings (3-1). Alissa Geipel was 2-for-3 and drove in two runs, and Cory Paquette and Gaelen Lombard-Knapp both had two hits.
Shannon Murray, who went 2-for-3 and drove in a run, went the distance to pick up the victory. Murray, who didn’t allow a hit until the fourth, struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.
Lawrence scored twice in the third to start the scoring. The Vikings then scored six times in the fourth to take command. The big blow in the inning was Geipel’s bases-loaded, two-run double.
After Macalester (6-3) scored three times in the bottom half of the inning, Lawrence scored twice in the fifth and another run in the sixth to close out the Scots.
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.
