Ripon defeats Lawrence baseball squad in MWC action

The weather lifted just enough this past Sunday for some Midwest Conference baseball to finally be played. Unfortunately, hits were hard to come by Sunday afternoon for the Lawrence baseball team as they lost both games of their doubleheader at Ripon College. Lawrence lost game one by a score of 5-0 and game two, 10-0. With the two losses, the Vikings moved to 6-6 overall on the season and 0-2 in Midwest Conference play.

The Vikings managed only seven hits between the two games compared to the Red Hawks’ 23 total hits. Senior Davide Harris offered some perspective on Lawrence’s struggles at the plate: “Their starting pitchers were throwing strikes early and often. After not playing games for a week, our hitters were in a little bit of a funk. The biggest thing that went wrong on Sunday was our pitch selection at the plate.”

Game one saw the Vikings get a complete game contribution from sophomore Drew Doares who walked four, struck out three and gave up four runs over eight innings. His performance on the mound kept the team within distance for a rally. However, Lawrence’s offense could not scrape anything together. Davis Ogilvie also made a solid contribution, as he collected half of the Vikings’ hits in the first game,  going 2-for-3 at the plate.

The offensive struggles continued for the Vikings in game two as Ripon received another complete game shutout from their starter. Sophomore Atley Gay gave up six earned runs over seven innings. Unfortunately, the Vikings were unable to provide their pitcher any run support in the contest, and the Red Hawks blew a 2-0 lead wide open in the bottom of the fifth as they plated five runs. Lawrence relievers would go on to give up three more runs before the game was called.

Rest assured, the team is looking forward to their home doubleheader against Ripon scheduled for Tuesday, April 16 at Whiting Field. However, the Vikes are looking to grab some wins this weekend as they travel to Beloit College on Saturday for a doubleheader before hosting the Buccaneers the following day for a home twin bill. Outfielder Richie Foreman shed some light on what the Vikings will have to do to collect some conference wins this weekend. “Beloit relies a lot on their pitching, so we have to be more patient and selective at the plate. Our pitchers are going to throw strikes and give us a chance to win the game. If we can put up five or more runs against them, I think we can grab some W’s.” Look for Lawrence’s bats to get hot this weekend, and hopefully the team can sustain some momentum into the heart of their conference schedule.