The Highlights

Scores, news and more from Lawrence University Athletics

Dockery wins 5,000 to lead Vikings at St. Norbert Invitational

DE PERE, Wis. — Kyle Dockery ran to victory in the 5,000 meters to lead a host of quality performances for the Lawrence University track and field team on Saturday at the St. Norbert Invitational at Schneider Stadium.

Dockery won the 5,000 in 15:35.65, and teammate Sam Estrem came home in fifth place in 16:08.95. Led by Dockery, the Lawrence men finished eighth in the team standings with 47 points.

Nick Craker and Spencer Swick paced the Vikings in the field events. Craker grabbed third in the discus with a throw of 132 feet, 5 inches. Swick grabbed third in the shot put with a toss of 43-10.75 to lead four Vikings who placed in that event. Craker was fourth (42-6.75), Nick Kerkman was sixth (40-7.75) and Stanley Jablonski was eighth (39-11.25).

On the women’s side, the Vikings grabbed a trio of second-place finishes to lead the team. Lawrence finished seventh in the team standings with 37 points.

Emily Muhs ran to second place in the 5,000 in 19:25.39, and Rose Tepper was second in the high jump with a leap of 5-1.75. Anna Bolgrien grabbed second in the 400 hurdles in 1:07.66 and also ran to sixth place in the 100 hurdles in 17.35 seconds.

Results

Lawrence breaks season wins record by topping UWSP

STEVENS POINT, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s tennis team broke the school record for a wins in a season with an 8-1 nonconference victory over UW-Stevens Point on Saturday.

It was the 14th victory of the season for Lawrence (14-8) and breaks the mark of 13 wins set by the 2008 and 2005 squads.

The Vikings got the match off to a great start by sweeping the doubles matches, and Lawrence then won five of the six singles contests.

It was the final match of a stellar career for No. 1 singles player Beth Larson. She beat Rachel Brown 6-2, 6-0 and teamed with Christina Schaupp for an 8-2 win at No. 1 doubles.

Gayatri Malhotra (No. 3), Hannah Geoffrey (No. 4), Polly Dalton (No. 5) and Tess Vogel (No. 6) all picked up singles victories.

Box score

Vikings fall to La Crosse

STEVENS POINT, Wis. — The UW-La Crosse women’s tennis team kept up its winning ways with a 6-3 nonconference victory over Lawrence University on Saturday.

The Eagles improved to 18-3 on the season by winning two of the doubles matches and four of the singles contests.

Beth Larson and Gayatri Malhotra both earned singles victories for Lawrence (13-8). Larson beat Jenny Maruyama 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7) at No. 1 singles, and Malhotra downed Abby Tresedder 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-7).

Larson also teamed with Christina Schaupp to beat Tresedder and Olivia Hartwick 9-7 at No. 1 doubles.

Box score

Doares tosses shutout as Vikings split with Beloit

Freshman pitcher Drew Doares tossed a shutout to lead the Lawrence University baseball team to a Midwest Conference doubleheader split with Beloit College on Saturday at Whiting Field.

The Vikings (11-13, 3-3 MWC) won the opener 1-0, and Beloit (14-15, 6-4) hung on for a 4-2 win in the nightcap.

Doares was simply outstanding for Lawrence in the opener. He picked up his first career shutout and allowed only five hits. He struck out four and walked three. It was the first 1-0 shutout by a Lawrence pitcher since Aaron Leitner beat Grinnell 1-0 on March 22, 2009, but that was a seven-inning contest.

Eric Bohling paced Lawrence’s 10-hit attack by going 3-for-4 and driving in the game’s only run. Gabe Henriques and Joel Birch both went 2-for-4 for the Vikings.

Lawrence scored the game’s only run in the bottom of the first inning. Davide Harris led off the game with a double and went to third on Henriques’ groundout. Bohling followed with a run-scoring single and the Vikings led 1-0.

Beloit did not have a runner reach third base in the game, but the Bucs did threaten in the ninth after Emory Nelms had a two-out double. After a walk, Doares got Will Mack to fly out to end the game.

Alex Norman went the distance for Beloit and took the loss.

In the nightcap, the Vikings rallied late but came up short. Grant Henrickson went 8 1/3 innings to get the win, and Al Loth got the final two outs to pick up the save.

Kelton Jenkins pitched well for Lawrence and took the loss after six innings of work.

Sam Kossow, Harris and Birch all had two hits for the Vikings, and Kossow smacked his first career homer.

Beloit led 4-0 heading to the eighth, but Lawrence loaded the bases on singes from Harris, Bohling and Birch. Phil Wisniewski grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Harris and trim the lead to 4-1. Henrickson then got Jake Gordon to ground into another fielder’s choice to end the inning.

Lawrence cut the lead to 4-2 when Kossow blasted a one-out solo homer in the ninth. Loth came on in relief and got Tanner DeBettencourt to ground out for the second out of the inning. Loth then walked Harris and Henriques, but he struck out Bohling to end the game.

Lawrence wraps up the four-game series with a doubleheader at Beloit on Sunday.

Game one box score

Game two box score

Vikings split doubleheader with Beloit

The Lawrence University softball team rolled to a win in game one Saturday, but Beloit College got a shutout in game two for a split of a Midwest Conference doubleheader at Whiting Field.

In the opener, Lawrence (7-18, 1-5 MWC) won 9-1 in six innings, and Beloit (7-24, 1-5) posted a 1-0 victory in the second game.

Shannon Murray went the distance to get the win in the first game for Lawrence. She allowed only three hits, struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter. Coley LaChance and Cory Paquette both went 2-for-3, and Cathy Kaye drove in a pair of runs for the Vikings.

Lawrence got on the board on Paquette’s run-scoring single in the second inning, but the Vikings broke the game open in the third. Lawrence scored four times in the third with Brielle Bartes and Mary Diduch both picking up run-scoring singles. Diduch completed the scoring in the third when she stole home as part of a double steal to give Lawrence a 5-0 lead.

Lawrence added  a run in the fourth on Alex Chiodo’s squeeze bunt, and the Vikings led 6-1 heading to the sixth.

The Vikings had two runners aboard in the sixth when Kaye doubled down the left field line to score Paquette and Bartes for an 8-1 lead. LaChance then ended the game when she singled to score Kaye.

In the nightcap, Katy Sandt, who took the loss in the opener, went the distance to get the win. Sandt allowed only three hits, struck out five and walked one.

The only run of the contest was Emily Dorjath’s solo homer in the fifth inning.

Lawrence, which went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position in the game, had two great chances to score.

LaChance smacked a one-out double in the fourth, and Murray followed with a bloop single. LaChance had to hold at second on the play, but both runners moved up on Kara Vance’s ground out. Didich then flied out to end the threat.

Lawrence had runners at second and third with no one out in the sixth, but Sandt got Murray to pop up on the infield for the first out. Vance then grounded to third, but Megan Salm made a nice play to throw out pinch-runner Jessica Robbins at the plate for the second out. Diduch then popped up on the infield to end the threat.

Murray allowed only five hits but took the loss in game two. She struck out five and didn’t walk a hitter.

Game one box score

Game two box score

Pioneers down Lawrence

The Carroll University men’s tennis team won five of the singles matches and posted a 7-2 Midwest Conference win over Lawrence University on Friday at the Lawrence Courts.

Cooper Smith was the lone singles winner for Lawrence (8-12, 1-1 MWC). Smith beat Ryne Fertitta 6-4, 6-3 at No. 4 singles. Smith also teamed with Caleb Ray for an 8-6 win over Fertitta and Jack Michael at No. 2 doubles.

Box score

Ripon sweeps doubleheader from Vikings

The Ripon College softball team rallied for a victory in game one and then rode great pitching to a win in game two to sweep a Midwest Conference doubleheader from Lawrence University on Wednesday at Whiting Field.

Ripon (14-9, 2-0 MWC) scored six times in the final two innings to win the opener 6-2 and took a 1-0 victory in the nightcap.

In the opener, Ripon got a two-run homer from Cassie Bilotto in the top of the sixth to tie the score at 2-2. The Red Hawks then scored four times on six hits in the seventh to seal the victory.

Lawrence (6-17, 0-4) had taken a 2-0 lead in the second when Brielle Bartes and Cory Paquette both delivered run-scoring singles. That was all Lawrence would get against Ripon starter Stephanie Rieuwpassa, who went the distance. She struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.

Five Ripon players had two hits apiece, including Bilotto, who drove in four runs.

The nightcap was a pitchers’ duel between Lawrence’s Shannon Murray and Ripon’s Ashley Gnacinski. Murray went the distance and allowed only five hits while striking out five and walking none. Gnacinski pitched five innings and allowed two hits and one walk to get the win. Rieuwpassa pitched perfect sixth and seventh innings to get the save.

The only run of the game came in the top of the fourth. Murray threw only three pitches to get the first two outs of the inning, but Bilotto came up with a two-out single. Beth Ebben followed with a single, and Gnacinski singled up the middle to score Bilotto and give Ripon a 1-0 lead.

Game one box score

Game two box score

Inside LU Athletics: Murray powers Vikings’ offense and pitching staff

They broke the cardinal rule, but the sporting gods were on the side of pitcher Shannon Murray.

The Lawrence University softball team was in the midst of blowing out Grinnell College last Saturday at the Midwest Conference Classic when pitching coach Ron Harke asked head coach Kim Tatro what she thought about pulling Murray. The Vikings were in the first of three games on Saturday, and Murray would definitely be needed to pitch later in the day.

“We were talking about making a change in the fourth inning,” Tatro said, “and I said, ‘You know she’s got a no-hitter going.’ ”

Tatro figured that would jinx it, but Murray cruised through the rest of the contest to post her second career no-hitter and only the third in Lawrence history. It is the latest highlight this season for Murray, who leads the team in hitting and is the Vikings’ top pitcher.

“To be honest, it would not have been possible without the entire team,” a modest Murray said of her no-hitter. “We shut them down defensively, and offensively we hit the ball right away.”

It’s her offense that makes Murray very unique among softball pitchers. A junior from Lawrenceville, Ga., Murray leads the team with a .441 batting average, but she is far from a singles hitter. Murray has a team-high eight doubles, is tied for the team lead with two triples and has a team-best 19 runs batted in.

“In terms of being pretty dominant in both areas, that doesn’t happen very often,” Tatro said. “Pitchers often grow up with the mindset that they are going to pitch, and that’s what they’re going to do well. They don’t often become the type of hitter that Shannon is where you can hit for power and hit for average. From that standpoint, she’s pretty unique.”

Murray is oblivious to the numbers she’s posting. In five games last week, the young woman from Georgia nicknamed Peach by her teammates hit a blistering .571 and had a 1.000 slugging percentage.

“To be honest, I don’t really keep up with the numbers. It takes the fun out of the game for me,” Murray said. “I couldn’t tell you if it was my best season, but it’s been productive. I try to go up there and do what’s productive for the team.”

Murray also has been the workhorse of the pitching staff by throwing 80.1 of of Lawrence’s 131 innings this season.

“I don’t care who you’re playing, to throw a no-hitter is pretty special,” Tatro said. “The mindset was to get the day off on a good note and get Shannon going. The idea to start the day was to throw her and then come in with someone else if we got a lead.”

The no-hitter threw a wrench in those plans, but that’s not the first time this season the Vikings have seen the best-laid plans altered. Murray was expected to form a great 1-2 pitching punch with senior Emily Perish, but an injury has sidelined Perish for the nearly a month.

“It’s definitely different without Em,” Murray said. “We came into the season not knowing what the freshmen were going to be like. The two freshmen have done a great job of stepping up. As a pitching staff, we’re a good working team.”

Perish’s injury has left Murray as the staff ace with freshmen Kara Vance and Liz Barthels lending a hand. Murray, who hasn’t pitched with a lot of luck this season (almost one-third of the runs she has allowed are unearned), is 5-8 with a 4.36 earned runs average.

“When Shannon came in, we were equally impressed with her skills from an offensive and defensive perspective,” Tatro said. “She has evolved into a team leader and one of the most competitive players we have on our team come game time.”

That competitive fire has left Murray wanting more this season. The young Vikings have struggled to a 6-15 record, but Murray believes the team is capable of piling up some victories.

“Sometimes we’re thinking so much about what we need to do on the field that we’re not doing it,” Murray said. “We’re focusing on just playing and just doing. If we can do that, we will start to have some more wins.”

The Vikings enter a busy stretch where they will play 12 games in the next 11 days.

Stormy weather

The Midwest Conference Classic was canceled after one day of play in Waukegan, Ill., this past weekend. The Classic pits the North Division teams against their South Division rivals and the games count in the conference standings. Because all of Sunday’s scheduled play was washed out and will not be made up, all three of Saturday’s games will not count in the conference standings.

Aces in the house

Ironically, the only other player in Lawrence softball history to toss a no-hitter, Lauren Kost, just happened to be at Murray’s no-hitter against Grinnell. Kost, a 2005 Lawrence graduate, lives in the Chicago area and went to the MWC Classic, which was being played in Waukegan, Ill., for the first time.

Streaking Vikings

The Lawrence baseball team has run its win streak to six games, and that is the longest season winning streak for the Vikings (10-12) since 1980. The 1980 squad won seven straight, and the longest win streak is nine games, which began at the end of the 1988 season and continued into the start of the 1989 season.

Vikings sweep honors

Lawrence baseball standouts Gabe Henriques and Atley Gay swept the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week awards. Henriques, a junior infielder from Chicago, Ill.,was named Player of the Week, and Gay, a freshman right-hander from Manitowoc, Wis., was chosen as Pitcher of the Week.

Henriques led Lawrence to a 6-0 record on the week by hitting .500 (10-for-20) with seven runs batted in. Henriques scored 10 runs and collected two doubles, a triple and a homer.

Gay picked up his first collegiate win and his first collegiate save during the week. Gay went the distance in Lawrence’s 11-1 win at Finlandia University this past Saturday to get his first win. He allowed two hits, struck out four and didn’t walk a batter. Gay earned his first save by pitching the final inning of Lawrence’s 8-5 victory over the Milwaukee School of Engineering last Wednesday.

Tennis records fall

Lawrence women’s tennis star Beth Larson broke one school record last Saturday, and the Vikings tied another in a 9-0 nonconference victory over Concordia (Wis.) University at the Lawrence Courts.

Larson, Lawrence’s No. 1 singles player, beat Concordia’s Meagan Harrington 6-3, 6-2, to record her 22nd victory of the season. That breaks the record of 21 set by Appleton native Linda Tomtshak in 1985.

Lawrence (13-7) picked up its 13th dual meet victory of the season and that ties the mark set by the Vikings in 2005 and 2008.

Henriques, Gay sweep MWC weekly baseball honors

Lawrence University baseball standouts Gabe Henriques and Atley Gay swept the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week awards on Monday.

Henriques (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) was named Player of the Week and Gay (Manitowoc, Wis./Roncalli) was chosen as Pitcher of the Week.

Henriques, a junior infielder, led Lawrence to a 6-0 record on the week by hitting .500 (10-for-20). Henriques scored 10 runs and collected two doubles, a triple and a homer. Henriques, who drove in seven runs in the six games, had a .630 on-base percentage for an impressive 1.130 OPS.

Henriques is batting a team-high .381 on the season with four doubles, four triples, a homer and 20 RBIs.

Gay, a freshman right-hander, picked up his first collegiate win and his first collegiate save during the week.

Gay went the distance in Lawrence’s 11-1 win at Finlandia University this past Saturday to get his first win. He allowed two hits, struck out four and didn’t walk a batter. Gay earned his first save by pitching the final inning of Lawrence’s 8-5 victory over the Milwaukee School of Engineering last Wednesday.

For the week, Gay pitched eight innings and posted a 1.12 earned run average. On the season, Gay has thrown 27 innings and lowered his ERA to 4.33.

The Vikings picked up a doubleheader sweep of MSOE last Wednesday and then swept doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday at Finlandia.

The Vikings return to action on Saturday when they host Beloit College.