Green Knights Split With William Paterson On Opening Day

From Sports Information Director, March 12, 2017 | Baseball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

LEESBURG, Fla. - St. Norbert College settled for a doubleheader split with William Paterson University on the opening day of the 2017 season at Pat Thomas Stadium. The Green Knights won the opener 4-1 in eight innings before falling in the nightcap 6-4.

Hunter Larson's two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning snapped a 1-1 tie in the opener. Tyler Banovich singled and later came around to score on an error for an insurance run later in the inning.

William Paterson scored a run in the bottom of the first inning on back-to-back doubles, but the Pioneers wouldn't score again off St. Norbert ace Jake McMahon. McMahon allowed just six hits with no walks and six strikeouts in the complete-game win.

St. Norbert tied the game in the second inning on an RBI single by Jason Malkowski to plate Griffin Jack.

Banovich was the only Green Knight with multiple hits in the opener, going 2-for-4.

In the nightcap, William Paterson broke open a 1-1 game with four runs in the top of the third inning on five hits and three St. Norbert errors.

St. Norbert, which scored an unearned run in the first inning, made it 5-3 with two runs in the third inning. Malkowski drove in Jack on a single and Jacob Rader came around to score on an error. The Green Knights cut the deficit to 5-4 with a run in the sixth inning on a Larson single to drive in Nathan Jack.

The Pioneers would score a run in the top of the seventh to account for the game's final run.

St. Norbert had 14 hits in the game, all singles. Nathan Jack was 3-for-3, while Larson was 3-for-4. Sean Grant and Derek Klegin were both 2-for-4.

Tyler Rouze took the loss in his collegiate debut, scattering 12 hits while allowing three earned runs. He did not walk or strike out a batter.