Scores, news and more from Lawrence University Athletics
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.
GRINNELL, Iowa — A nine-run sixth inning led the North Central (Minn.) University baseball team to a 16-4 nonconference victory over Lawrence University on Friday.
The game was played at Grinnell High School due to unplayable field conditions in Appleton.
Isaac Gross went 5-for-6 with a pair of runs batted in to pace North Central (3-7) and its 17-hit attack. Ian Andrews went 3-for-5 with three RBI, and Ben Freitag was 3-for-7 with three runs scored and three RBI.
Chad Skaer went 3-for-4 and Sam Kossow was 2-for-2 to pace the Vikings (1-8), who committed a season-high eight errors.
Lawrence led 2-1 after scoring twice in the bottom of the second. After Eric Bohling reached on an error and Davide Harris singled, Skaer singled to score Bohling. Harris later scored on an error and the Vikings were up 2-1.
The Rams took the lead back with three runs in the fourth, and the outburst was highlighted by Andrews’ two-run homer.
North Central led 5-2 when they put the game away with the big sixth inning. Freitag had a two-run double in the inning, and Andrews and Gross both added run-scoring doubles.
Lawrence finished out its scoring with two runs in the bottom of the eighth. Gene Shipanik had a run-scoring single, and Darvis PridGeon drove in a run with a ground out.
John Doran pitched 5.2 innings, allowing 10 hits, and took the loss. Blake Balaam scattered four hits over seven innings and picked up the win.
The same two teams will play again Saturday in a doubleheader at Grinnell College.
Tickets are now on sale for the 2011 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship, which will be played at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium on May 27-31.
The championship is hosted by Lawrence University and the Fox Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The early-bird ticket special runs through May 20. An all-session pass is available for $15, a savings of $18 off the regular price. The early-bird all-session pass can be purchased by contacting the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers ticket office at (920) 733-4152.
After May 20, the price of an all-session pass rises to $33 for adults and $20 for students and senior citizens. A daily pass is $11 for adults and $7 for students and senior citizens. A championship day ticket is $7 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens.
The championship features a maximum of 15 games played over five days. Four games are played on each of the first two days, three games are played on the third day, two games on the fourth day and a maximum of two games on championship day.
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.
The Monmouth College men’s tennis team shut out Lawrence University 9-0 in a match Friday night at Fox Cities Racquet Club.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Tiffin University men’s tennis team topped Lawrence University 7-2 in a nonconference match. Caleb Ray posted a straight-sets victory at No. 2 singles, and the No. 1 doubles team of Jason Dunn and Max Zlevor picked up an 8-4 victory at No. 1 doubles for the Vikings.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Lawrence University men’s tennis team posted a 6-3 nonconference victory over Schreiner University on March 17. Lawrence started the day by winning at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles. The Vikings then posted singles wins by Jason Dunn (No. 1), Caleb Ray (No. 2), Max Zlevor (No. 3) and Ray Wimer (No. 5).
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Lawrence University men’s tennis team topped Nichols College 5-4 in a nonconference match on March 14. The Vikings won at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles and then split the singles matches. Jason Dunn won at No. 1 singles and Caleb Ray was a winner at No. 2, both in straight sets. Jeremy Andereck clinched the match with a three-set victory at No. 4 singles.
