St. Norbert Splits at Ripon

From Sports Information Director, April 16, 2014 | Baseball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

RIPON - St. Norbert College baseball got back to the diamond after a week-long hiatus and split a Midwest Conference doubleheader at Ripon College. The Green Knights won the opener 10-6 before dropping the nightcap 6-2 at Francis Field.

The Green Knights (11-10, 2-4 MWC North) got off to a good start in the opener, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. Travis Mason drove in a run with an infield single, and Jose Godinez had an RBI single later in the frame.

St. Norbert added three runs in the top of the third to take a 5-0 lead. Nick Pierre drove in a run with a single, and Alex Larsen had an RBI double. Adam Enwiya closed out the scoring in the inning with a sacrifice fly.

Enwiya plated a run with a double in the fifth inning to make it 6-0, but Ripon (8-10, 1-1) countered with two runs in its half of the inning. Mason drove in a run in the sixth with a groundout, but the Red Hawks answered with one run in the sixth to make it 7-3.

St. Norbert salted the game away with three runs in the eighth, with Godinez driving in a run on a grounder, Pierre hit an RBI double, and Larsen with a sacrifice fly. Ripon scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth for the game's final margin.

The Green Knights pounded out 19 hits. Godinez, Pierre and Derek Klegin all had three hits. Mason, Larsen, Enwiya, Troy Rottier and Chad Ljunggren all totaled two hits apiece, with Larsen registering two doubles.

Kevin Nutley went the first six innings to improve to 4-1 on the season, allowing six hits with four walks and six strikeouts while yielding three runs. Nate Schadrie went the last three innings to get the save, allowing four hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

In the nightcap, St. Norbert couldn't solve Ripon starter Patrick Van Daalwyk, getting only a pair of unearned runs against him in the eighth inning. Van Daalwyk scattered six hits and walked two while striking out seven for the Red Hawks, who scored three runs in the second inning and two in the third to take a 5-0 lead.

Mason had three of St. Norbert's six hits. Matt Freeman took the complete-game loss, allowing nine hits and striking out five with no walks.