Green Knights Face Long Road Back in MWC Tournament

From Sports Information Director, May 9, 2008 | Baseball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

GALESBURG, Ill. - St. Norbert College must sweep a tripleheader Saturday at the Midwest Conference Baseball Tournament after splitting a pair of games on the first day of the tournament.

The Green Knights (25-10) won their first-round game over Monmouth College 16-1 before dropping the winners' bracket contest to Ripon College 4-2. St. Norbert plays Knox College (12-23) at 9:30 a.m. at Knox's Blodgett Field. The winner must beat Ripon (27-8) twice for the championship.

St. Norbert scored early and often against Monmouth, plating nine runs in the third inning for a 10-0 lead. The Green Knights got an RBI single from Jared Yost, a two-run double by Jordan Vater, a three-run home run by Brett Birkholz and a two-run homer by Tony Jandron in the big inning.

The Green Knights had just 11 hits in the game but were aided by five Monmouth errors. Jandron was 2-for-5, Birkholz 2-for-3 and Kyle Johnsen 2-for-4 for St. Norbert.

Jandron worked five innings for the win, allowing five hits and one walk with three strikeouts.

Against Ripon, St. Norbert was held to just three hits by Ripon's Mike Lloyd.

St. Norbert scored a run in the top of the second when Cory Fuller scored on a Ripon error. The Red Hawks answered with a two-run home run by Brett Wegner in the bottom of the second.

Ripon added an unearned run in the fifth, but St. Norbert answered with a run in the sixth on a Fuller RBI single to score Alex Byrne. The Green Knights would leave the bases loaded in teh sixth and would not get a baserunner the rest of the game.

Lloyd walked three and struck out two for Ripon. Brett Yost took the loss for St. Norbert, working 7 1/3 inning allowing six hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Fuller was 2-for-4 for St. Norbert against Ripon. Jared Yost and Jandron went hitless against Ripon, having their 23-game hitting streaks come to an end. The hitting streaks tied a school-record set by Rich DuQuaine in 2000.