The Lawrence baseball team started the season down in Florida March 22. The players traveled to Fort Pierce where they finished with a 3-6 record under their first-year coach from Grinnell, Jason Anderson.
The first four games were against Grinnell College, and the Vikings spilt 2-2 with wins of 1-0 and 7-2. The Vikings then battled with Carleton, wining 3-1 and losing the other two games. The Vikings struggled in the final doubleheader as they dropped both games to No. 20 ranked NAIA Northwood.
In more recent action, the Vikings traveled to Ripon April 2, where they split a doubleheader. In the first game, they took a win 4-1 in which senior pitcher Frank Forseth pitched a phenomenal complete game.
The final meeting of both Ripon and Lawrence followed April 4, and the Vikings lost both games, including the nightcap game in the ninth inning.
The Vikings battled in the first game, which ended in a score of 11-8. On the offensive side of things, Forseth led the Vikings with three hits and two RBIs. Pitching for the Vikings were Ben Konetzke, Mike Baumann, Matt Frelich and Kevin Penza.
The second game of the doubleheader started out great for the Vikings as they built a 3-1 lead after four innings. Helping build the lead were Robert Rashid, who scored one run off his three hits, and Jordan Clark, who drove in two in the bottom of the fourth.
After eight full innings, Ripon was able to battle back and tie the game at three. The top of the ninth was what killed the Vikings, as Ripon scored three runs. Wes Otte’s homer in the bottom of the inning was not enough to overcome the deficit. Andy Frelich pitched a full game where he faced 38 batters.
The Lawrence baseball team is back in action Saturday, April 11 when the team hosts UW-Fond du Lac at noon.
Baseball season now in full swing
