APPLETON, Wis. – Cornell and Lawrence battled to a seven-plus hour split during another offensive-friendly Midwest Conference baseball doubleheader Saturday at Whiting Field.
Freshman Evan Parshall (FR/Riverside, Calif.) earned his first collegiate pitching victory in Cornell's 14-6 Game 1 triumph. In the second game, Lawrence rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth to take an 11-10 win.
The Rams (7-15) raced to a 13-0 lead in the opener, highlighted by an eight-run fourth inning. The was plenty of support for Parshall (1-0), who allowed four hits and four runs over five innings.
Relievers Caleb Blair (SR/Dubuque, Iowa), Tyler Lederhos (SR/Aurora, Colo.) and Eric Medenblik (SR/Fulton, Ill.) held down the Vikings (11-9) the rest of the game. Lederhos tossed two scoreless innings.
Leadoff batter Caleb Sass (SR/Iowa City, Iowa) homered, doubled and drove in three runs in Game 1. Peyton Berthel (SR/Davenport, Iowa) and Lalo Zepeda (FR/Chandler, Ariz.) added two hits apiece. Dylan Kaiser (SR/Tucson, Ariz.) and James Kent (SO/Phoenix, Ariz.) both drove in two runs.
The Game 2 slugfest saw Kent and Darren Mancke (FR/Oswego, Ill.) record four hits apiece for the Rams. Kent's big game included two doubles, a homer, three runs and four RBIs. Mancke also homered and drove in three.
The Rams built an early 5-0 lead, but needed to rally trailing 8-7 in the top of the ninth. Sass came through with a go-ahead, two-run single and Kent doubled home another run to put the Rams in front 10-8.
Lawrence had an answer in its last at-bat. The Vikings scored on a bases-loaded walk and then ended the game on a two-run single down the left-field line. The winning run was unearned.
Cornell totaled 15 hits in the game, including two each from Sass, Zach Stone (SR/Coralville, Iowa) and Colin Gierula (SO/Lantana, Texas). Sass scored three times.
Preston Wright (SO/Orlando, Fla.), Brett Potter (SO/Glendale Heights, Ill.) and Chad Dzierba (SO/Valparaiso, Ind.) all threw one scoreless inning in relief for the Rams, who used seven pitchers in the game.
Coming up – The Rams (4-4 MWC) host South Division leader Monmouth (8-2 MWC) Wednesday in a key doubleheader at Ash Park. First pitch is 4 p.m.
