A week after seemingly hitting their offensive stride against Finlandia and MSOE, the Lawrence University baseball team had their bats go cold on them yet again, losing four games to Beloit (20-9, 8-4 MWC).
The Vikings, who had piled up 32 runs in their previous three games, were only able to score seven runs over four games with Beloit. The Buccaneers’ pitching was dominant, recording three complete games and allowing the Vikings fewer than 20 total hits in the four games.
The weekend began with a doubleheader in Beloit, which the Buccaneers swept, winning 7-1 and 12-2. In the first game, Rob Rashid provided one of the lone bright spots for the Vikings’ weekend. Leading off in the fourth inning, Rashid crushed a pitch that hit the top of the outfield wall and fell over for the first home run of his collegiate career.
The junior captain is also on pace to set the school record for steals in a season. In the weekend’s four games, Rashid added two more steals to bring his total to 29 on the season.
Senior Luke Kostreva is also having a huge season this year, batting .357 and leading the team in runs batted in with 22.
The second doubleheader, played in Appleton, went even worse for Lawrence, as Beloit swept that set by scores of 13-3 and 11-1.
The efforts of Kostreva and Rashid were not enough to overcome an abysmal performance by the Vikings’ pitching staff on the weekend. In the four-game set, the Vikings gave up 43 runs, and the four starting pitchers combined for only 20 2/3 innings.
Looking to break their four-game losing streak, the Vikings (6-21, 2-6 MWC) will take the field again this weekend. Lawrence will face rival Ripon College (13-15, 4-4 MWC) in a home-and-home series, while the two school’s junior varsity teams will play a game at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Baseball swept by Beloit
