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Box Score 2 BELOIT, Wis. - The Wisconsin Lutheran College baseball team earned a split against non-conference foe Beloit Tuesday at The Ballpark at Strong Stadium. The Warriors overcame a late five-run deficit to take game one 9-8 before falling 6-3 in game two.
Game one started in favor of WLC as Sam Mattheis (Rosendale, Wis./Laconia) doubled home a run with one out in the first. Mattheis scored on a Brett Youngbeck (Brown Deer, Wis./Brown Deer) groundout later in the inning for a 2-0 lead. The Buccaneers did their damage in the second, crossing home six times, led by Alex Lawrence's two-run double.
The Warriors salvaged one run back in the fourth as Brandon Mantz (West Bend, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) lifted a fly ball to center field that allowed Youngbeck to score and make the score 6-3. Beloit responded in the fourth with two more runs to extend its lead to five runs.
WLC began to mount a comeback in the sixth, scoring twice to trim the Buccaneers' lead to 8-5. The rally continued into the seventh where Mantz got things rolling with an RBI single and later scored the tying run off a Zack Skog (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) single. Jake Klemme (Plymouth, Wis./Plymouth) dealt the final blow, punching a single through the left side of the infield to bring home Connor Vredeveld (Waterloo, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran) and give the Warriors a 9-8 lead.
Nolan Friend (Burlington, Wis./Burlington) pitched his third consecutive shutout inning in the seventh to seal the victory. Friend did not allow a hit and struck out one in 3.0 innings to go to 1-0. Mantz finished 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI, while Klemme went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Mattheis and Youngbeck both ended the game 2-for-4 with two runs and one driven in.
Andrew Kane took the loss the Beloit, allowing four runs in 1.0 inning. Lawrence went 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs.
The Buccaneers found themselves building a lead again in game two, scoring four early runs. Tyler Peacock had a two-run single to highlight a four-run Beloit first. WLC was blanked until the fifth inning when Jake Grollo (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) broke through with an RBI single that plated Mantz.
Beloit added two more insurance runs in the sixth to push its lead to 6-1. The Warriors began another comeback in the seventh started by a Ryan Stancl (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) RBI triple. Stancl scored on a Jake Meyer (Sussex, Wis./Hamilton) groundout, but WLC could get no closer as it fell 6-3.
Travis Stahulak (Lake Geneva, Wis./Badger) was charged with the defeat, surrendering four runs in 4.1 innings, striking out seven. Mantz went 2-for-3 with two runs.
Craig Vruwink pitched all 7.0 innings to earn the win, giving up three runs on just four hits. Peacock finished 1-for-3 with two RBI and Ethan Blumenthal scored twice for Beloit (8-6).
WLC (8-7, 2-2 NACC) continues its break from conference play Saturday with a doubleheader against Maranatha (1-7). First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Neumann Family Field.
