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Ripon survived their fourth
game of regional tournament action Saturday by downing top-ranked St.
Thomas 6-4 in the first championship game before falling to the Tommies
in the second championship game 10-3. After surviving elimination with
big wins over Edgewood (8-7) and UW-Stevens Point (2-0) after being
sent to the loser's bracket by Stevens Point with a 3-1 loss on Thursday,
Ripon rallied on Saturday to down the #1-seed St. Thomas.
Behind a stellar performance by senior Chris Morgan who came off of one
day of rest to throw a complete game, the Red Hawks came from behind to
give the Tommies their first loss of the tournament. Junior Matt Zittlow
held St. Thomas in check in the final game of the tournament as Ripon clung
to a 4-3 deficit late in the game before St. Thomas collected six runs
in the final three innings to put the game out of reach.
Morgan, who set a tournament record by throwing 18 complete innings, was
joined on the all-tournament team by Charlie Saponara, Zach Morris and
Nick Johnson. The Red Hawks capped a record-setting season with 33 wins
and nine losses. |
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DE PERE - What looked like it would
be a slugfest at the start turned into an old-fashioned pitchers' duel
with Carroll College claiming a 2-1 win over St. Norbert College in
a Midwest Conference North Division Playoff game Monday at Mel Nicks
Field.
Carroll (17-16) advances to Friday's first round of the Midwest Conference
Tournament, while St. Norbert ends its season with an 18-13 record.
The Pioneers got to St. Norbert starter Jordan Bischel early, with Brian
Lussier and Jim Remm cracking solo home runs in the first innings. But
Bischel settled down, allowing just five more hits the rest of the way
before giving way to reliver Brian Lesandrini in the ninth.
St. Norbert struggled mightily against Carroll starter Brandon Longley.
Longley walked the first two hitters he faced in the first but coaxed a
force out and double play to get out of the inning. He pitched seven scoreless
innings before reliver Nick Witthuhn came on for the eighth frame.
Against Witthuhn, Matt Frank walked on four pitches to start the innings.
Brian Englebert hit a single up the middle and Rich DuQuaine hit a bloop
single to right. But Witthuhn bore down, getting Mario Bilotti and Lesandrini
to strike out. No. 9 hitter Ben Arendt walked with the bases loaded before
Witthuhn struck out leadoff hitter Dave Reichwald on a full count to end
the inning.
St. Norbert went down in order in the ninth inning, leaving 12 men on base
in the game. The Green Knights were 2-for-22 in the game with runners on
base and were 0-for-8 with two outs.
The win was Longley's first of the year in just his second collegiate start.
Bischel fell to 2-3 despite getting Carroll hitters to hit into a school-record
four double plays. Bischel, who is one year older than Longley, were prep
teammates at Green Bay Notre Dame High School.
St. Norbert misses its first MWC Tournament since 1998, while Carroll gets
back to the MWC Spring Classic for the first time since 1998. St. Norbert
is now 14-18 all-time in Midwest Conference post-season action.
- Dan Lukes, St. Norbert Sports Information |
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| Click
here for the story on the Monmouth College website |
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Riding a wave of strong pitching and
timely hitting, the Monmouth Fighting Scots captured the 2001 MWC South
Division title Thursday afternoon by edging Knox 1-0 and 2-1.
Joe Larkins improved to 7-1 on the year with a two-hit, seven-strikeout
performance in game one. With Larkins holding the Prairie Fire at bay,
Knox's Scott Seeliger was equally as effective allowing just five hits
and no runs through six innings. The Scots loaded the bases on the bottom
of the 7th with and with one out and a Knox pitching change, scored the
game-winner on a passed ball.
Larkins played a big role in game two registering both of Monmouth's RBI
in the 2-1 win. Larkins' sacrifice fly in the third inning gave the Scots
a 1-0 lead until the Prairie Fire's Tom Neagle went deep in the top of
the 7th to tie things up. Larkins stepped up again in the bottom of the
frame with a run-scoring double for the eventual game winner. Neagle and
Kevin Keen had two hits apiece for Knox while Larkins collected two of
his own. Ryan Johnson had seven K's and no walks for the win. |
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Zach Michael's fourth-inning two-RBI
double started a three run inning for Lawrence that made the difference
in a 4-2 over Beloit in the opener in Appleton Thursday afternoon.
Michael's double with no outs followed three straight singles by the
Vikings to start the rally. Mike Hart picked up his first win of the
season while Michael and Jason Shanda collected two hits apiece.
A pitching duel highlighted the 2-1 win by Beloit in the second game. Ben
Everson went nine complete giving up just one run and striking out six
for the victory while Lawrence's Justin Anthony was equal to the task with
a one-hitter over nine innings with no walks and four strikeouts. Nick
Levsen picked up the Buccaneers' only hit of the day, but the Beloit catcher's
two-RBI double in the top of the 2nd was all they would need. |
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Evan Celing and Jordan Bischel combined
to allow 11 hits and four runs as St. Norbert recorded two wins in
Beloit on Tuesday.
In the 13-3 victory in game one Green Knight first basemen Justin Behm
knocked in two runs on three hits and scored twice himself to lead the
way. Buccaneer pitcher Casey Nelson helped his own cause by recording two
hits.
Nick Cordy recorded two steals in game two to push his league-leading total
to eight. Beloit shortstop Avery Walker was 2-for-3 while three St. Norbert
players finished with two hits each: Dave Reichwald, Cordy and Brian Englebert. |
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| Lawrence University, looking for their
first victory of the season, took down nationally-ranked UW-Oshkosh
10-8 in the first game of a doubleheader at Fox Cities Stadium Tuesday
afternoon. Check back later for the game boxes. |
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Monmouth took commanding lead of the
South Division after a four-game run over defending division-champ
Grinnell.
After an extra-innings 4-1 victory in game one and a 10-5 win at Grinnell
in game two, the Scots returned home to take two more on Saturday.
Pitcher Jim Brady gave up only four hits and got some defensive help as
Monmouth recorded three double plays in a 4-1 win in the early game. Jacob
Chavez lost his first league game of the season despite a solid performance.
Monmouth took a 3-0 lead in the third inning on a Tom Malvestuto two-run
single.
Both teams combined for 27 hits in game two but Grinnell left ten runners
on base to Monmouth's five. Ryan Johnson recorded seven strikeouts in the
win while both Casey Boydstun and Beau Hellman went 3-for-5 with six RBI
between the two of them. Both players connected on doubles while Boydstun
also added his first long-ball of the season. Justin Lea collected three
hits for Grinnell. |
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Knox and Illinois C. split the final
doubleheader of their series in Jacksonville Saturday. Knox led-off
with a 4-3 win while the Blue Boys took game two by the score of 6-4.
The Prairie Fire broke open a 2-2 tie in the top of the 7th and held of
an Illinois C. rally in the bottom half for the win. Two of the Blue Boys
three runs came via solo shots by Jeff Hurie and Mickey Chabak while Tom
Neagle connected on one of his own for Knox. Scott Rans picked up the win
for Knox.
The Blue Boys rallied from a 4-0 deficit with two runs in the fifth and
four more in the sixth. Justin Catt came in for IC in the sixth inning
and shut the door on Knox, allowing just one hit and no runs to pick up
the win. Hurie, Dustin Devening and Matt Petefish tallied two hits apiece
with Petefish slamming a homerun. Scott Rans had a homer of his own for
the Praire Fire who left seven runners on base in the contest. |
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St. Norbert jumped out to a quick lead
in a 10-3 win in game one but dropped a 8-4 decision to Beloit in game
two in DePere Saturday.
The Green Knights scored four runs in the first and three in the second
to take a commanding lead behind a eight strike-out showing by pitcher
John Verheyen who picked up the win. Scott Kallback was 3-for-4 with two
runs and Matt Frank had three RBI in the St. Norbert win. Jimmy Franco
and Casey Nelson contributed two hits apiece for the Bucs.
Joe Herfel improved his overall record to 4-2 on the season after going
eight-innings strong as the Buccaneers evened the series in game two. Eric
Purcell's two-run homer capped a three-run sixth inning that gave Beloit
a 6-0 lead. |
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Carroll took the first two games of
the four-game series against Lawrence on Thursday by the scores of
20-1 and 5-3.
The Pioneers racked up 19 hits in game one including a perfect 4-for-4
performance by Craig Bonin who also added four runs and five RBI, some
coming off a home run. Brian Lussier also added a home run with his three
hits, six RBI and two runs. Lawrence's Matt Smith collected two hits off
Carroll starter Cliff Radliff who improved to 5-0 with seven strikeouts
and four hits.
Nate Miller and Jeffrey Erickson were the leaders in game two with three
hits each while Lussier nailed his second homer of the day for the Pioneers.
The Vikings' Pat Kennedy had two hits and pitcher Justin Anthony took the
loss despite eight K's in nine innings of work. |
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Illinois C. pitcher Jeff Cox threw a
three-hit shutout Friday afternoon in Jacksonville as the Blue Boys
took game one of the season-opening series against Monmouth. The Scots
bounced back to sweep the final three games behind equally strong pitching
performances.
In the 4-0 win, IC's Dustin Devening was 2-for-2 with a run and Matt Petefish
added two hits while the Blue Boys handed Scot pitcher Joe Larkins his
first loss of the season.
Monmouth handed their hosts a 14-8 loss in game two behind Ryan Johnson's
eight-inning gem that included seven K's and no walks. Monmouth totaled
14 hits, including four from Casey Boydstun, two which were doubles.
A 7-3 win by Monmouth in game three saw Jeff Brady improved to 3-0 for
the year overall. The Fighting Scots scored six runs in the first three
innings behind Beau Hellman who registered two hits and three RBI. Jeff
Hurie had three hits for the Blue Boys.
The final game of the series was a 9-3 decision in favor of the Scots.
Jim Starcevich nailed a grand slam in the 6th inning to break the game
open. Adam Carlson improved to 3-0 on the year. |
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In their first weekend of league play
St. Norbert split home and away series with second-place Carroll this
past weekend. Friday the hot-hitting Pioneers took game one at St.
Norbert 11-1 on the shoulders of a 4-for-5 showing with three runs
and four RBI by Brian Lussier. St. Norbert totaled just three hits
off of Carroll starter Cliff Radliff.
Game two Friday saw the Green Knights capture their first MWC win of the
season with a 5-4 decision. Scott Kauback and Mario Bilotti each had two
hits and two runs in the victory. Down 5-1 in the 7th, the Pioneers rallied
with three runs to pull within one and had runners on second and third
with two outs before relief pitcher Brian Lesadrini earned the final out.
St. Norbert made it two in a row when they dropped Carroll 8-1 on Saturday.
The Green Knight's Bryan Lemens went 3-for-4 with two RBI while Matt Frank
was 2-for-4 including a home run. St. Norbert jumped out quickly for starter
John Verheyen with four runs in the top of the first.
The final game of the series was won by Carroll 6-5. St. Nobert came from
behind to tie the contest at 5-5 with three runs in the top of the 7th
before Carroll responded with one of their own in the bottom of the same
inning and held on for the win. Eight of nine Carroll starters collected
a hit led by Jeffrey Erickson's two. |
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Ripon won two games at home Friday against
Beloit while the two teams split on Saturday in MWC action. Reigning
North Division Player of the Year Nick Johnson had two solo homeruns
in game one as the Red Hawks won 9-5. Jimmy Franco went 2-for-4 while
teammate Jon Dupuis had a homerun and three RBI for Beloit.
Johnson took the mound in game two for Ripon and posted the 5-0 shutout
in nine innings. Luke Hagel homered for the Red Hawks and Curt Ritchie
collected two hits.
Game three in Beloit was won by Ripon 4-2. The Red Hawks needed an Aaron
Johnson leadoff home run in the top of the 6th to tie the game at 2-2 before
Ripon collected two more runs in the top of the 7th for the victory.
The Beloit offense rolled up 20 hits and 15 runs in the final game of the
series while Buc's pitcher Joe Herfel stymied Ripon with a one-hitter performance.
Nick Thoen's single in the 6th inning was the only hit of the game for
Ripon. Beloit jumped on Ripon early with five runs in the first innings
and six in the second. Jon Dupuis was 4-for-4 with four runs while Casey
Nelson and Nate Edwards tallied three hits apiece. |
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Grinnell broke a 5-5 tie in game three
Saturday in the top of the 7th and a 5-5 tie in game four in the top
of the 8th to take three of four from Knox and move into a first-place
tie.
Grinnell took advantage of seven Knox errors in the early game while Jimmy
Bombulie provided more fireworks with a two-run homer. Tony Smith contributed
two hits and one RBI in the victory.
Knox took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 3rd in the nightcap before Grinnell
took a 5-3 advantage after 4-1/2 innings. Knox added one in the 5th and
one in the 6th to knot it up at 5-5 before Grinnell's game-winner in the
8th. Lost in the defeat was a 2-for-3 plate showing by the Prairie Fire's
who also added three runs and 4 RBI on two home runs. Aaron Rushing collected
the win for Grinnell. |
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In a doubleheader at Grinnell in gusting
winds, the MWC South Division season kicked off for 2001 with a 20-11
win in game one for Knox and a 9-7 victory for Grinnell in game two.
Knox broke open a 7-7 tie in the opener with an 11 run 6th inning on eight
hits. The Prairie Fire capitalized on seven Grinnell errors for the game.
Six Knox players finished with two hits and Brett Zick tallied a 3-for-4
performance with three RBI and three runs. The Pioneers' Jason Anderson
was tops for his team with two hits in four at-bats and 3 runs batted in.
Knox took the quick two-run lead in the nightcap before Grinnell ran off
nine runs in the next four innings and held on for the win. Grinnell ace
Jacob Chavez recorded 13 K's and improved his overall record to 3-0. Jim "I
only hit" Bombulie's had a career day for the Pioneers going 4-for-4,
including three homeruns, to go along with his four RBI and three runs. |
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Pre-season favorite Ripon leaped to
the top of the MWC standings with four wins over Lawrence in the MWC
openers for both teams. Chris Morgan and Nick Johnson threw complete-game
wins on Sunday for the Red Hawks. Tuesday's make-up doubleheader saw
the Vikings go on top early in both games before Ripon rallied for
the sweep.
Trailing 1-0 in game one on Tuesday, Ripon's Joe Vicari belted a two-run
homer to help the Red Hawks take the lead. Lawrence countered with one
of their own in the top of the 7th to tie that game at 2-2 before Vicari's
sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh scored Aaron Johnson for the
game-winner. Rick Herzog went the distance for Lawrence giving up just
eight hits and three runs. Ripon's Steve Fauk picked up the win in game
one while Matt Zittlow was the pitcher of record in game two.
Carroll's five-run first inning in game one against Beloit, in the MWC
opener for both teams on Saturday, was all the Pioneers would need in their
8-4 win. Cliff Radliff improved to 3-0 on the season with the win. Carroll's
offense exploded in game two Saturday with 35 hits and 44 runs. Pioneer
catcher Jim Remm finished a perfect 5-for-5 with four runs as did third
baseman Nate Miller who went 4-for-4 with five runs.
Carroll jumped out early in the early game Sunday with a seven-run second
inning. The Buccaneers clawed their way back into the game before the Pioneer's
Shaw Froemming closed the door on the rally. Beloit out-hit their opponent
12-10, led by Ethan Vaade's 4-for-5 performance with three runs. Derek
Hassell and Brian Lussier both collected three hits for Carroll. Beloit
picked up their first MWC win of the season in the nightcap by scoring
all seven runs in the first four innings and getting a shutout performance
from Joe Herfel through his final five innings. |
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Ripon and Monmouth are favored to win
their respective divisions in the upcoming 2001 season according to
a recent poll of MWC baseball coaches.
The Red Hawks, winners of three-straight MWC titles, were a strong choice
to win the North Division after finishing second to St. Norbert last season.
The Green Knights were a heavy favorite to finish second. Lawrence was
given the nod to challenge for a top spot while Beloit and Carroll round
out the North.
Monmouth placed second in the South last season by was picked to win the
their division this season. Grinnell, who won their first-ever divisional
title last season, was picked to finish second with Illinois C. and Knox
just one and two points behind, respectively.
The top two teams from each division qualify for the double-elimination
MWC Championship Tournament to be held May 11-12 at the site of the North
Division Champion |
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