Softball

JANESVILLE, Wis. — The Lawrence University softball team blasted three home runs and rolled to a 6-1 victory over Monmouth College at the Midwest Conference Classic.

Amanda Jaskolski, Sam Belletini and Tierney Duffy all homered for the Vikings (15-6, 4-1 MWC), who ran their win streak to six games. Jaskolski finished 2-for-2 with two runs batted in and two runs scored.

Liz Barthels went the distance to get the win for the Vikings. She scattered eight hits, struck out three and did not walk a batter.

Lawrence took a 2-0 lead in the third when Savanna Marsicek walked and Jaskolski belted her eighth home run of the season.

The Vikings made it 4-0 in the fourth when Katie Schumacher was hit by a pitch and Duffy followed with a two-run homer.

Lawrence increased the lead to 6-0 with another round-tripper in the fifth. Jaskolski singled and then scored when Belletini homered for the second consecutive day.

Lawrence scored all six runs against Monmouth starter Alyssa Edler, who alloed five hits, struck out four and walked three.

Monmouth (6-17, 2-6) broke up the shutout with a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh.

Box score

JANESVILLE, Wis. — Liz Barthels tossed a three-hit shutout Friday as the Lawrence University softball team topped Knox College 7-0 at the Midwest Conference Classic.

Barthels allowed only a bunt single, one more single and a double over seven innings. She struck out five and did not walk a batter to improve to 6-4 on the season.

Katie Schumacher and Amanda Jaskolski both went 2-for-3 for the Vikings (14-6, 3-1 MWC) with Schumacher driving in two runs and Jaskolski scoring twice. Sam Belletini went 2-for-4 and drove in a run, and Jessica Demski belted a pinch-hit, three-run double for Lawrence.

The game was scoreless until Lawrence plated four runs in the fifth. Savanna Marsicek started the rally with a walk and Jaskolski followed with a double. After a wild pitch scored Marsicek, Belletini had a run-scoring single and Schumacher provided a two-run single to put the Vikings up 4-0.

Lawrence added three more runs in the sixth courtesy of Demski. The Vikings loaded the bases on two walks and a single, and Demski then drove it to the wall in right-center to clear the bases and put Lawrence up 7-0.

Lawrence returns to action in Janesville on Saturday with games against Illinois College and Monmouth College.

Box score

JANESVILLE, Wis. — Lawrence University catcher Sam Belletini powered the Vikings to a 17-4 victory over Grinnell College on Friday in the opening game of the Midwest Conference Classic.

Belletini went 4-for-5 with three doubles and a home run and drove in five runs and scored three runs.

Amanda Jaskolski, Anna Wawiorka and Tierney Duffy all went 3-for-4 as the Vikings pounded out 20 hits. Jaskolski and Wawiorka both drove in three runs, and Wawiorka and Duffy scored three runs apiece.

Kara Vance went the distance to pick up the win for Lawrence (13-6, 3-1 MWC). She allowed nine hits, struck out two and walked one.

Lawrence scored single runs in each of the first five innings, with Belletini leading off the second with her first homer of the season.

The Vikings broke the game wide open in the sixth when they scored four times. The big hit in the inning was Belletini’s two-run double.

Lawrence then sent 12 hitters to the plate in the seventh and scored eight times. Jessica Demski blasted a three-run homer in the inning, and Wawiorka and Belletini both had two-run doubles.

Box score

APPLETON, Wis. — To describe Amanda Jaskolski’s first home run on Tuesday, think of the movie Major League and play-by-play announcer Harry Doyle.

“Jaskolski swings and crushes one toward South America. Argenzio is gonna need a visa to catch this one. It is out of here, and there is nothing left but a vapor trail.”

In Tuesday’s opening game of Lawrence’s doubleheader sweep at Mount Mary University, Jaskolski hit two home runs, the first one being a mammoth blast out of Kulwicki Park. The senior shortstop from Shawano, Wis., now has seven round-trippers in what is becoming a banner season.

“Home runs are never in the mindset for me,” said Jaskolski, who leads the Midwest Conference in home runs. “They just happen when they do.”

They’ve been happening a lot as Lawrence has built a 12-6 record with just under half the season left. Jaskolski is second in the conference in hitting with a .453 batting average and leads the league with a .925 slugging percentage. Her 20 runs batted in (in 18 games) is good for second in the conference.

“In the time I’ve coached softball, she’s one of the top kids I’ve had the pleasure of having in our program,” said Lawrence coach Kim Tatro, who is in her 22nd season with the Vikings.

“Jazz (Jaskolski’s nickname) is the complete package offensively and defensively. She’s very competitive and very humble. When you put all of those characteristics together, you have a very special player.”

The 2014 Midwest Conference North Division Player of the Year, Jaskolski is putting up impressive numbers despite the fact that every opposing pitcher knows who she is and how good she is.

“That’s my struggle this year. Last year I came in as a junior and nobody really knew how to pitch to me. I liked that last year. I could get a lot of pitches in the zone,” Jaskolski said.

“I have to be more patient. I love to hit. I don’t like to be walked, but with age and experience, I see that getting a walk will help the team in the long run.”

Jaskolski leads the league with 16 walks and is tops in the conference with a .580 on-base percentage.

“Her swing is smooth and thorough and she’s very patient,” Tatro said. “Teams pitch around her, and when they don’t, they pay the price.”

It’s been tough to pitch around Jaskolski, who hits third in the lineup, because Tierney Duffy, Anna Wawiorka and Savanna Marsicek have been getting on base ahead of her. Forced to pitch to Jaskolski, the result is she ranks fourth in all of NCAA Division III at .39 home runs per game.

“That’s definitely not my mindset when I get up there,” Jaskolski said of hitting homers. “It’s really to be patient and just get a good pitch to hit.”

If Lawrence is to make a push to make the four-team Midwest Conference Tournament, the Vikings will need that continued hot bat from Jaskolski. Lawrence, which plays in the MWC Classic this weekend in Janesville, Wis., is looking for a third straight trip to the conference tournament.

“If we can get our team back (to the MWC Tournament) and do better than we did last year, that is better in my eyes than being the conference player of the year,” Jaskolski said.

GREENFIELD, Wis. — Amanda Jaskolski homered twice in the opener and Savanna Marsicek collected four hits in the nightcap as the Lawrence University softball team swept a nonconference doubleheader from Mount Mary University on Tuesday.

Lawrence won the first game 11-0, and the Vikings took the second game 13-1 at Kulwicki Park.

Jaskolski went 3-for-4 with a pair of two-run homers, drove in four runs and scored three times to pace Lawrence (12-6) in the opener. Marsicek went 3-for-4, drove in two runs and scored two runs, and Anna Wawiorka went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and scored two runs.

Kara Vance tossed a four-hit shutout for the Vikings. She went the distance, struck out three and walked one.

Jaskolski belted a two-run homer in the first, and Lawrence scored five times in the second with the help of run-scoring doubles from Marsicek and Wawiorka. Lawrence added four more runs in the third, with two coming on another Jaskolski homer.

In the nightcap, Lawrence pounded out 14 hits in five innings, and freshman Kori Looker belted her first career homer.

Marsicek went 4-for-4, scored three runs and drove in a pair for the Vikings. Katie Schumacher went 2-for-3 and pitcher Jessica Demski was 2-for-4. Demski went the distance, allowed seven hits, struck out one and did not walk a batter.

Lawrence broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the third. The Vikings added four more runs in the fourth as Wawiorka picked up a run-scoring triple and Marsicek added an RBI double.

Mount Mary (3-17) got on the board to make it 6-1 in the bottom of the fourth, but the Vikings scored seven times in the top of the fifth to pull away. Looker had the big hit in the inning as she blasted a three-run homer.

Lawrence returns to action on Friday when it travels to the Midwest Conference Classic.

Game one box score

Game two box score

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University softball standout Tierney Duffy rode a hot bat to earn Midwest Conference Player of the Week honors.

Duffy (North Riverside, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield) hit .750 for the week as Lawrence split a pair of doubleheaders.

A junior outfielder, Duffy went 9-for-12, scored a team-best five runs and drove in a pair of runs for the Vikings.

Duffy went 2-for-3 in both games against the University of Chicago this past Friday. She also went 2-for-2 on stolen bases against the Maroons as the Vikings won 6-2 and dropped a 5-4 decision.

Duffy went 2-for-3 in the Midwest Conference opener against Beloit College on Saturday and drove in two runs, and then went 3-for-3 and scored a pair of runs in the nightcap. Beloit rallied to win the opener 5-4, and Lawrence took the nightcap 4-3.

Duffy, who was chosen for the weekly honor for the first time in her career, improved to a team-best .478 batting average on the season. The Vikings also took a weekly award last week as Kara Vance (Racine, Wis./Park) was named MWC Pitcher of the Week.

The Vikings return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Mount Mary University.

BELOIT, Wis. — The Lawrence University softball team nearly took a pair of Midwest Conference games at Beloit College on Saturday, but the Vikings had to settle for a split.

Beloit rallied to win the opener 5-4, and Lawrence won the nightcap 4-3.

In the nightcap, Savanna Marsicek went 2-for-5 and drove in four runs, and Tierney Duffy was 3-for-3 and scored a pair of runs for Lawrence (10-6, 1-1 MWC).

Pitcher Liz Barthels, who went 2-for-3, allowed seven hits and three runs in seven innings to pick up the win. She struck out four and walked one.

Lawrence grabbed a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth courtesy of Marsicek’s three-run double. Beloit cut the margin to 3-2 with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning.

Lawrence got an insurance run that it needed on Marsicek’s run-scoring triple in the top of the seventh for a 4-2 edge. Barthels gave up a lead-off homer in the bottom of the inning, but then retired the next three in order to seal the win.

In the opener, Beloit (7-13, 1-1) scored an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh to break a 4-4 tie.

Duffy had a run-scoring single in the top of the second to tie it at 1-1, and Anna Wawiorka followed with a two-run triple to put the Vikings up 3-1.

Lawrence made it 4-1 when Duffy singled to score Belletini, who had doubled, in the fourth. Beloit tied it with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, with two runs coming on Jordyn Ciochon’s homer.

Belletini finished 3-for-3 and scored two runs, and Duffy went 2-for-3 and drove in a pair.

Kara Vance went the distance and took the loss. She allowed 10 hits, struck out four and did not walk a batter.

Game one box score

Game two box score

CHICAGO, Ill. — Amanda Jaskolski provided the offense and Kara Vance turned in a stellar pitching performance to lead the Lawrence University softball team to a nonconference doubleheader split with the University of Chicago on Friday.

Lawrence won the nightcap 6-2, and the Maroons took the opener 5-4 at Stagg Field.

In the second game, Jaskolski went 3-for-3 with a home run, scored a pair of runs and was on base four times. Vance allowed six hits and just one earned run in going the distance.

Lawrence (9-5) trailed 1-0 before striking for three runs in the third. The Vikings loaded the bases on an infield single and a pair of walks, and a fielder’s choice ground ball brought home Tierney Duffy to tie the game at 1-1. A two-out throwing error on Sam Belletini’s ground ball allowed two more runs to score and the Vikings led 3-1.

Jaskolski then belted a lead-off homer in the fifth to push Lawrence’s lead to 4-1. Taylor Dodson followed with a double, and pinch-runner Rheya Upadhyaya later scored on Marisa Thackston’s single for a 5-1 lead.

Anna Wawiorka then led off the sixth with another solo homer for the Vikings to give Lawrence a 6-1 lead. The Maroons closed to 6-2 with a run in the bottom half of the inning, but Vance shut them down the rest of the way to seal the win.

In the opener, Chicago (9-7) built a 5-0 lead and then had to hang on for the win.

The Vikings scored three times in the top of the fifth with Savanna Marsicek smacking a two-run double and Dodson adding a run-scoring single in the inning.

Lawrence trimmed the margin to 5-4 in the sixth when Kori Looker walked to start the inning and scored on Wawiorka’s single.

Lawrence got the tying run aboard in the seventh when Jaskolski drew a lead-off walk, but the Vikings left her stranded at second.

Duffy went 2-for-3 and scored a run, and Marsicek drove in a pair to pace Lawrence’s offense in the opener. Liz Barthels allowed nine hits and only two earned runs and took the loss for the Vikings.

Game one box score

Game two box score

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University softball standout Kara Vance has been named the Midwest Conference Pitcher of the Week after an outstanding set of games in Florida.

Vance (Racine, Wis./Park) posted a 4-0 record during the past week during Lawrence’s spring break trip to Clermont, Fla. The senior right-hander pitched 26.2 innings and posted a 1.31 earned run average. She struck out seven and walked just one.

Vance finished her week with a complete-game, two-hit shutout in a 5-0 win over Colby College. The day before, Vance went the distance again, allowing six hits, in a 5-1 win over Colby.

Vance pitched all eight innings in a 5-4 victory over Rochester Institute of Technology, and she also threw 4.2 innings of one-run relief in a 5-4 win over D’Youville College on consecutive days.

Lawrence finished the trip to Florida with an 8-4 record.

CLERMONT, Fla. — Kara Vance fired a two-hit shutout to lead the Lawrence University softball team to a 5-0 nonconference victory over Colby College on Friday.

Lawrence finished its spring break trip to Florida with an 8-4 record.

Vance needed just 59 pitches to complete the seven innings of work. She gave up a lead-off single in the third and lead-off double in the seventh. Those were the only two runners for the Mules (3-7) as Vance struck out two and walked none.

Kori Looker went 3-for-3 and drove in a pair of runs to pace the Vikings, and Taylor Dodson went 2-for-4.

Lawrence grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the third. Anna Wawiorka tripled to score Tierney Duffy, and Wawiorka then scored on Savanna Marsicek’s squeeze bunt.

The Vikings extended the advantage to 5-0 with three more runs in the fifth. Dodson had a run-scoring single, and Looker followed with a two-run single to complete the scoring.

Megan Michie allowed all five runs in her five innings of work and took the loss for Colby.

Box score