The Highlights

Scores, news and more from Lawrence University Athletics

Vikings power past Macalester

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.

Box score

Vikings pull out victory in final inning against Morris

CLERMONT, Fla. — Alex Chiodo’s single in the bottom of the seventh lifted the Lawrence University softball team to an 11-10 nonconference victory over the University of Minnesota-Morris at the National Training Center.

The Vikings had built a 10-2 lead after the first two innings, but Morris (0-7) chipped away at the lead. The Cougars then scored four times in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 10-10.

Lawrence started the winning rally in the bottom of the seventh when Gaelen Lombard-Knapp led off the inning with a single. Cory Paquette then got hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second.

After a pop up, a passed ball moved the runners to second and third. After another pop up, Chiodo laced a single to the outfield to score Lombard-Knapp with the winning run.

Carli Gurholt went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two runs batted in to pace the Vikings (2-1). Emily Perish went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs.

Shannon Murray, who had a double and drove in three runs, pitched the final inning and picked up the win.

Box score

McDaniel pulls away from Vikings

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The McDaniel College baseball team broke open a close game with four runs in the fifth inning and went on to a 16-4 nonconference victory over Lawrence University on Wednesday.

McDaniel led 4-2 but scored four times in the fifth to go up 8-2. The Green Terror (4-3), which had 20 hits, scored five times in the eighth and three more times in the ninth to seal the victory.

Andrew Monger pitched the first five innings and picked up the win. Andrew Wilt tossed seven innings and took the loss.

Luke Barthelmess and Robert Rashid both had two hits to pace the Vikings (0-3).

Brandon Kline went 4-for-6 and scored three times to pace McDaniel. James Chiorello went 3-for-6 and drove in four runs for the Green Terror.

Box score

Inside LU Athletics: Young baseball squad looks to move up in MWC

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.

Lawrence routs Franciscan in opening game of the season

CLERMONT, Fla. — Cathy Kaye got the Lawrence University softball season started with a bang.

Kaye homered in Lawrence’s first plate appearance of the season, just like she did in 2010, and the Vikings went on to rout Franciscan University 14-1 on Tuesday at the National Training Center.

Shannon Murray powered the Lawrence offense by going 4-for-4 with a grand slam and five runs batted in.

Emily Perish pitched the first two innings, and Cory Paquette tossed the final three. Paquette struck out four and walked two as the two pitchers combined to allow only three hits.

Lawrence jumped on the board with five runs in the first. Following Kaye’s lead-off homer, three walks and an error loaded the bases. Murray followed with a grand slam to put the Vikings up 5-0.

Kaye went 2-for-3 and Carli Gurholt was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI.

Box score

Vikings fall to 13th-ranked Cortland State

CLERMONT, Fla. — The State University of New York-Cortland defeated Lawrence University 7-3 in a nonconference softball game Tuesday at the National Training Center.

The 13th-ranked Red Dragons broke open a 2-2 game by scoring in each of the final three innings.

Lindsay Rowell pitched the first six innings and allowed only one hit, while walking one and striking out four.

Shannon Murray pitched the first six innings and took the loss.

Lawrence (1-1) led 2-1 after the first inning when the Vikings scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom half of the frame thanks to a pair of Cortland errors.

The game was tied 2-2 when Cortland scored once in the fifth and added two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings.

Lawrence collected only three hits, one apiece by Carli Gurholt, Emily Perish and Mary Diduch, who broke up the no-hitter with her pinch-hit in the fifth.

Box score

Vikings drop pair in season-opening doubleheader

LAKELAND, Fla. – The Lawrence University baseball team dropped both games of its season-opening doubleheader with Franklin and Marshall College on Tuesday.

The Diplomats (5-5) won the opener 13-0 and took the nightcap 5-4 in eight innings.

In the nightcap, Lawrence (0-2) posted a 13-7 advantage in hits, but Franklin and Marshall scored twice in the top of the eighth to take the lead for good. The Vikings scored once in the bottom of the eighth but could not plate the equalizer.

Gabe Henriques went 3-for-5 in the nightcap to pace Lawrence’s attack. Robert Rashid, Eric Bohling, Tanner DeBettencourt and Michael Baldino had two hits apiece.

Bohling, coming back from an arm injury that forced him to miss the 2010 season, turned in a solid performance on the mound. He went six innings, allowed four hits, struck out five and walked one.

Rob Anderson went the distance, striking out seven and walking three, to pick up the win.

Franklin and Marshall scored twice in the third, but Lawrence tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Diplomats took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth, but Lawrence tied it in the bottom half of the inning. The score remained tied until the top of the eighth.

Will Benenson and Mike Amabile had two hits apiece for the Diplomats in the nightcap, and J.T. Triantos drove in a pair of runs.

In the opener, the Diplomats piled up 14 hits and scored in each of the first four innings to take command.

Eric Bornstein, Connor Devlin and Benenson all had two hits for Franklin and Marshall. Bornstein capped the Diplomats’ six-run fourth inning with a grand slam.

Brian King pitched the first three innings and took the loss for the Vikings. Eric Herbst went the distance, allowing only three hits, to pick up the win.

Game one box score

Game two box score

Fencers compete at NCAA regional

DETROIT, Mich. — The Lawrence University fencing team took part in the NCAA Midwest Regional on Saturday and Sunday at Wayne State University.

Madeline Cooper paced the women’s team by taking 14th place in sabre. Mariah Wilkerson took 15th in epee, and Caitlyn Hoglund grabbed 17th in foil.

On the men’s side, Frederick Breslow and Alex Biehl led the Vikings. Breslow was 12th in sabre and Biehl took 12th in foil. Matthew DeStasio was Lawrence’s top finisher in epee as he took 14th.

Results

Food poisoning knocks Tepper out of NCAA Championships

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A case of food poisoning kept Lawrence University track and field standout Rose Tepper from competing at the NCAA Division III Championships on Saturday.

Tepper (Mount Vernon, Iowa/Mount Vernon) and Lawrence head coach Jason Fast both became ill on Friday. Tepper was scheduled to compete in the high jump on Saturday morning at Capital University but was still far too ill to take part in the meet.

This was the first trip to the NCAA Championships for Tepper, who earned a qualifying spot when she jumped 5 feet, 5.75 inches, on Feb. 5. That jump broke Madeline Steininger’s school record.

This caps what has been a rough month for Tepper. She injured her knee several weeks ago while stretching before practice. That injury forced her to miss the Midwest Conference Championships. Tepper had returned to practice this past Monday and left for the NCAA Championships on Wednesday.

Lawrence men grab sixth, women 12th at MFC Championships

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Lawrence University men’s team led the way on March 5-6 by taking sixth place among the 20 teams in the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships at the University of Notre Dame.

The Lawrence women finished in 12th place among the 19 teams.

Lawrence placed ninth in the combined team standings. Notre Dame won both the men’s and women’s titles.

Results