The Highlights

Scores, news and more from Lawrence University Athletics

Free youth clinic set for NCAA Division III Baseball Championship

APPLETON, Wis. — Rawlings, American Apparel and the Panther Baseball Program are sponsoring a free youth baseball clinic as part of the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.

The clinic is Monday, May 27 (Memorial Day) from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The clinic is open to players ages six to 14 and includes instruction on hitting, fielding and throwing. Korey Krueger, Director of Operations for the Panther Baseball Program, will lead the clinic.

The clinic is limited to 350 participants, and to register on a first-come, first-served basis, go to: www2.lawrence.edu/athletics/ncaayouthbaseball.shtml. Registration the day of the clinic starts at 8 a.m.

Each participant will receive a free T-shirt, and all participants should bring a glove and bat. For more information, please contact Krueger at 920-731-7529 or via email at koreyk@pcfoxcities.com.

As a special offer to those taking part in the clinic, the first 100 participants purchasing an adult ticket for Monday’s games or holding an all-session pass for the championship will receive a Rawlings promotional item. Two semifinal round games will take place on May 27 at noon and 3:30 p.m.

The NCAA Division III Baseball Championship features eight teams from around the country playing from May 24-28. This marks the 14th consecutive year the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship will be played at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium, which is the home of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, a Class A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Ticket prices are: all-session pass, $33 adults, $20 senior citizens and students; daily session pass, $11 adults, $7 senior citizens and students.

Information/Registration

Stevens takes steeplechase title as Lawrence men, women take seventh at MWC Championships

BELOIT, Wis. — Sam Stevens won the title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to lead the Lawrence University track teams at the Midwest Conference Championships on Saturday at Strong Stadium.

Stevens won the title with a time of 9:34.42 to beat Carroll University’s Dakota Pruitt by nearly three seconds. Teammate Cameron Davies raced to a fourth-place finish in 9:47.58.

Stevens also grabbed a third-place finish in the 5,000 on Saturday with a time of 1:34.64. Stevens wasn’t able to defend his championship in the 1,500 meters on Friday and took fifth place in 4:00.64. Teammate Dan Thoresen was sixth in 4:03.42.

The Lawrence men finished seventh with 54 points, and Monmouth College won the title with 201. The Lawrence women also placed seventh with 39 points, and the Scots also won that team title with 244.5 points.

The other top finisher on the men’s side was freshman JP Ranumas, who grabbed second in the 110 hurdles in 15.49 seconds. Karston Anderson of Monmouth edged Ranumas by .18 seconds for the title.

Lawrence had two throwers place in the top five in the discus. Spencer Swick grabbed third with a throw of 142-4, and Nick Craker was fifth with a toss of 137-4.

Others placing on the men’s side were: freshman Ben Bard in the 400 hurdles (sixth, 1:00.38), sophomore Kyle Dockery in the 10,000 (sixth, 33:29.10), Tyler Herman in the 400 (eighth, 51.67) and the 1,600 relay team (eighth, 3:34.51).

Rose Tepper took second place in the high jump to pace the Lawrence women on Friday. Tepper, a former conference champion in the high jump, was the runner-up with a jump of 5 feet, 5 inches. Monmouth College’s Emily Tysma won the event with a jump of 5-7.25.

Freshmen Sofie Yang placed in three events, taking fourth in the pole vault with a height of 10-0.75, sixth in the 400 hurdles in 1:08.88 and sixth in the 100 hurdles in 16.46 seconds.

Anna Bolgrien wasn’t able to defend her title in the 400 hurdles and took fourth in 1:06.12. She also grabbed seventh in the 100 hurdles in 16:52. Also placing for the Vikings were the 400 relay (fifth, 51.40), the 1,600 relay (fifth, 4:14.26), Liza Girsova in the 100 meters (seventh, 13.03) and Genna Matt in the hammer throw (eighth, 121-7.25).

Results

Tepper’s second-place finish paces Vikings on opening day of MWC Championships

BELOIT, Wis. — Rose Tepper took second place in the high jump to pace the Lawrence University track team on Friday’s opening day of the Midwest Conference Championships at Strong Stadium.

Tepper, a former conference champion in the high jump, took second with a jump of 5 feet, 5 inches. Monmouth College’s Emily Tysma won the event with a jump of 5-7.25.

Freshmen Sofie Yang and Genna Matt also placed for the Vikings on Friday. Yang grabbed fourth place in the pole vault with a height of 10-0.75, and Matt was eighth in the hammer throw with a toss of 121-7.25.

The Lawrence women are in eighth place with 14 points.

On the men’s side, senior Sam Stevens wasn’t able to defend his championship in the 1,500 meters. Stevens took fifth place in 4:00.64, and teammate Dan Thoresen was sixth in 4:03.42.

Sophomore Kyle Dockery took sixth place in the 10,000 with a time of 33:29.10.

The Lawrence men are in eighth place with 10 points.

Results

Murray, Tatro takes top honors on All-MWC softball team

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University softball star Shannon Murray and head coach Kim Tatro took home top individual honors on the All-Midwest Conference North Division team.

Murray (Lawrenceville, Ga./Dacula) was named North Division Pitcher of the Year, and Tatro earned Coach of the Year honors. Both Cathy Kaye (Sturgeon Bay, Wis./Sevastopol) and Anna Wawiorka (Oconto Falls, Wis./Oconto Falls) also were named to the all-conference team.

Murray won Pitcher of the Year honors for the first time and was named to the all-conference team for the second consecutive season.

Murray went 5-6 in conference play but posted an outstanding 2.17 earned run average. She struck out 39 and walked 12 in 67.2 innings. Murray also hit .513 in league play with four doubles and 11 runs batted in in 14 games.

On the season, Murray posted a 13-11 record with a 2.32 ERA in 148 innings. She struck out 93 and walked 22 while tossing a pair of shutouts and pitching a combined no-hitter, the third of her career. Murray also hit a team-high .379 with nine doubles, one triple, one homer and a team-high 22 RBIs.

Tatro was honored as Coach of the Year for the seventh time in 20 seasons at Lawrence. Tatro, who has more wins (321 in softball, 412 overall) than any coach in Lawrence history, led the team to 21 victories this season. Lawrence’s second-place finish in the conference was its best since winning the title in 1999. Tatro also was named Coach of the Year in 2011, 2006, 2002, 1999, 1998 and 1997.

Kaye, who also was named to the all-conference team in 2010 and 2011, hit .283 in league play and scored a team-high 10 runs. She also had two doubles, two homers and five RBIs. On the season, Kaye started every game in center field and hit .307 with 21 RBIs. She led the team with 11 doubles and three home runs, including a dramatic three-run, walk-off homer against St. Norbert College in the MWC Tournament.

Wawiorka is the first Lawrence freshman to be on the all-conference team since Kaye was selected in 2010. The rookie third baseman was second on the team with a .341 batting average in conference play with four doubles and five RBIs. On the season, she was third on the squad with a .319 batting average with 10 doubles, one triple and 14 RBIs. She also led the team with 10 stolen bases.

Lawrence finished the season with a 21-15 record and took second in the MWC Tournament.

Inside LU Athletics: Vikings looking to take a step up on the track

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University track coach Jason Fast knows all about champions. He was one himself during his days of competition, and he’s coached countless conference and national champions.

When his Lawrence University track teams open competition on Friday at the Midwest Conference Championships in Beloit, Wis., Fast has several athletes fighting for individual titles. He also has dozens of other athletes competing for championships inside the championships, fighting to move up one place here or two places there to provide precious points for the Vikings.

“As a team it’s going to be a close competition for fifth to eighth place, and we see ourselves right in the middle of that,” Fast said of his men’s squad. “If we rise to the occasion as a team and have a couple of events go our way, then we will end up on the higher end of that spectrum. We have a good amount of entries that are currently ranked just outside the top eight who we believe will be able to step up and really help the team.”

The Lawrence men are paced by senior Sam Stevens, who is the defending champion in the 1,500 meters. Stevens will face stiff competition if he wants to repeat in the 1,500, and he also is a contender for two other titles Stevens is the top-ranked runner in the 3,000 steeplechase with a time of 9:28.57, and he has the second-fastest time in the league in the 5,000 at 15:14. 

The Vikings also will look to distance runners like Dan Thoresen and Jamie Brisbois to pick up points in a few events.

Freshman JP Ranumas is looking for a championship in the 110 hurdles and is tied for the second-fastest time in the league at 15.63 seconds. Ranumas also looks to pick up points for the Vikings in the triple jump.

Lawrence is led in the field events by sophomore Spencer Swick, who is ranked fourth in the shotput with a toss of 45 feet, 6 inches. Swick, Andy Paider and Nick Craker form the trio of throwers for Lawrence and could place in any of the throwing events.

Sophomore Anna Bolgrien is Lawrence’s returning champion on the women’s side after winning the 400 hurdles a season ago in 1:05.60. She enters the meet with the second-fastest time in the league at 1:05.75. The Vikings will be looking to place three athletes in the 400 hurdles because rookies Sofie Yang, ranked fifth in that event, and Hayley Cardinal, ranked 10th, give Lawrence a strong presence. 

Lawrence will need some strong performances throughout its lineup to move up from a seventh-place finish in 2012.

“We will be competing against Beloit and Knox for eighth place,” Fast said. “Our team has a lot more upside then those we are competing against, and we have some people in other events that are ready to step up and really turn some heads so that bodes well for us.”

Senior Rose Tepper looks to end her career with another conference championship in the high jump. Tepper is ranked fourth in the league at 5-3 and also is one of the top-eight runners in the league in the 200.

In addition to the 400 hurdles, Yang could pull down more points for the Vikings as she is ranked sixth in the pole vault and seventh in the 100 hurdles. Yang also has an outside shot at placing in the triple jump.

In the other field events, freshman Genna Matt set a school record recently in the hammer throw at 118-10 and also will try to place in the javelin.

Four honored in softball

In the wake of Lawrence’s second-place finish in the conference, three Vikings have been named to the all-conference softball squad and Kim Tatro earned North Division Coach of the Year honors.

Shannon Murray was selected as North Division Pitcher of the Year, and Cathy Kaye and Anna Wawiorka both were also chosen for the all-conference team.

Murray went 5-6 in conference play but posted an outstanding 2.17 earned run average. She struck out 39 and walked 12 in 67.2 innings. Murray also hit .513 in league play with four doubles and 11 runs batted in in 14 games.

Kaye hit .283 in league play and scored a team-high 10 runs. She also had two doubles, two homers and five RBIs. Wawiorka was second on the team with a .341 batting average in conference play with four doubles and five RBIs.

Tatro was honored as Coach of the Year for the seventh time in 20 seasons at Lawrence. Tatro, who has more wins than any coach in Lawrence history, led the team to 21 victories this season.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Director of Athletic Media Relations 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 win with walk-off in opener, split doubleheader with Carroll

APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University baseball team won the opener in a walk-off on Wednesday and went on to split a Midwest Conference doubleheader with Carroll University at Whiting Field.

Lawrence (11-24, 2-14 MWC) won a wild one, 9-8, in the opener, and Carroll (16-19, 5-11) took the nightcap 12-3.

The Vikings took a see-saw affair in the opener by scoring a run in the bottom of the ninth. Carroll had tied it at 8-8 in the top half of the inning, but Aaron Benz led off the bottom of the ninth with a single.

After a sacrifice bunt moved pinch-runner Tom Olson to second, Tanner DeBettencourt tripled to dead center field and Olson scored to give Lawrence the 9-8 victory.

Davide Harris went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs in the opener for the Vikings. Dan Taylor went 3-for-4 and also drove in a pair of runs for Lawrence. Benz and Gabe Warshaw both had two hits, and Phil Wisniewski belted a solo homer for the Vikings.

Gene Shipanik pitched the ninth and picked up the win for the Vikings. Chris James took the loss in relief for Carroll.

Joe Klobukowski went 5-for-6, scored three runs and drove in a pair for the Pioneers.

In the nightcap, Tyler Robers scattered nine hits over seven innings and allowed only three runs to earn the victory.

The Pioneers trailed 2-1 but scored five times in the top of the sixth to take command. Carroll then added five more runs in the top of the eighth to seal the victory. Mitch Marty went 3-for-5 to pace the Carroll offense.

DeBettencourt and Warshaw had two hits apiece for Lawrence.

Game one box score

Game two box score

Lawrence drops two to Carroll

WAUKESHA, Wis. — The Carroll University baseball team swept a Midwest Conference doubleheader from Lawrence University on Sunday at Frame Park.

Carroll (15-19, 4-10 MWC) won the opener 13-12 and took the nightcap 9-0.

In the opener, Carroll led 11-7 after scoring four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, but Lawrence (10-23, 1-13) rallied for five runs in the top of the ninth. Davis Ogilvie got the inning started for Lawrence with a solo homer, and Gabe Warshaw and Gabe Henriques both added run-scoring singles to give the Vikings a 12-11 lead.

Carroll then scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to win it. After two hit batsmen and a walk loaded the bases with one out, both runs scored on an error.

Ogilvie, Warshaw, Phil Wisniewski and Jake Gordon all had three hits in the opener for the Vikings. Phil Clark took the loss in relief.

In the nightcap, Carol Formento scattered eight hits to pick up the shutout for the Pioneers. He struck out nine and walked three as Lawrence stranded 11 runners.

Game one box score

Game two box score

Cornell tops Vikings to win MWC title

APPLETON, Wis. — Jackie Sernek tossed a two-hit shutout to lead Cornell College to a 9-0 victory over Lawrence University on Sunday in the Midwest Conference Tournament championship game at Whiting Field.

It was the first league title for the Rams (23-14), who rejoined the conference for the 2012-13 academic year after a 15-year absence. Lawrence’s second-place finish was its best showing in the conference since since the Vikings (21-15) won the league title in 1999. Lawrence’s 21 wins in 2013 is the most for the Vikings since they won 31 games back in 1999.

Sernek allowed only two singles and struck out seven while walking two to send Cornell to its first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance.

Renata Rankin powered the offense for Cornell as she went 3-for-4 and drove in five runs.

Rankin hit a three-run homer off Kara Vance in the top of the second to put the Rams up 3-0. She then added a two-run double in the fourth to give the Rams a 5-0 lead. Brianna Carney followed with a two-run homer in the fourth, and the Rams led 7-0.

Cornell added a pair of runs on Bekah Ozga’s two-run single in the seventh.

Vance went 3.1 innings and took the loss for the Vikings.

Box score

Kaye’s walk-off homer propels Lawrence into MWC championship game

APPLETON, Wis. — Cathy Kaye hit a walk-off three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the Lawrence University softball team to a 5-4 win over St. Norbert College in an elimination game on Sunday at the Midwest Conference Tournament.

The win puts Lawrence (21-14) into the MWC championship game against Cornell College at Whiting Field.

The Vikings trailed 4-2 heading to the bottom of the seventh, but lead-off hitter Alissa Geipel reached on error to start the rally. Cory Paquette then laced a double to right field, and the Vikings had runners at second and third with no outs. Kaye then smacked the first pitch from Morgan Rusch over the center field fence to win it for Lawrence.

Shannon Murray went the distance to pick up the win for Lawrence. She allowed only five hits, struck out two and did not walk a batter. Rusch took the loss, allowed seven hits, and walked one.

Cory Paquette went 2-for-3 for the Vikings, and Kaye scored two runs to go with her three runs batted in.

The Vikings went up 1-0 in the bottom of the first when Savanna Marsicek reached on an infield single, stole second and scored on Anna Wawiorka’s single. St. Norbert tied it with a run in the fourth and then added two more in the fifth.

The Vikings cut the lead to 3-2 with an unearned run. After Kaye reached on an error, she moved to second when Tierney Duffy walked. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, and Kaye then scored on Murray’s single to cut the lead to 3-2.

St. Norbert added an insurance run in the top of the seventh before Kaye’s dramatic home run won it in the bottom half of the inning.

Box score

 

Vikings battle in dual meet at St. Norbert

DE PERE, Wis. — The Lawrence University track team battled St. Norbert College in a dual meet on Saturday at Schneider Stadium.

The Green Knights won the women’s meet 308-183 and topped the Vikings on the men’s side 322-237.

Winners for the Lawrence women were: Cora Williams (1,500), Clare Bruning (5,000), Anna Bolgrien (400 hurdles), Alyssa Herman (steeplchase), Sofie Yang (pole vault) and Genna Matt (hammer throw).

Winning for the men were: Tyler Herman (400), Sam Stevens (1,500), Jamie Brisbois (5,000), Cam Davies (steeplechase), JP Ranumas (triple jump) and Andy Paider (hammer throw).

Results