Warriors Bounce Back For Game Two Win Over Scarlet Hawks

CHICAGO (WLCSports.com) – KJ Banse (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine's) and Joe Hanson (La Crosse, Wis./Logan) each launched solo home runs to power the Wisconsin Lutheran College baseball team to a 10-5 victory in game two against Illinois Tech. The Warriors dropped game one 12-4 at Ed Glancy Field on a windy Friday afternoon for a non-conference series split with the Scarlet Hawks.

THE BASICS

• Scores: Illinois Tech 12, Wisconsin Lutheran 4; Wisconsin Lutheran 10, Illinois Tech 5 
• Location: Ed Glancy Field, Chicago, Ill.
• Records: Wisconsin Lutheran (5-6), Illinois Tech (2-11)

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS

• The Scarlet Hawks jumped on the board first with a solo home run from Zachary Dickey to right field in the bottom of the second inning.
• The Warriors answered with three runs in the third on three errors to take a 3-1 lead.
• Wisconsin Lutheran tacked on an insurance run in the fifth with an RBI single from Sid Lehman (Theresa, Wis./Mayville).
• IIT knotted the game up in the fifth with three runs on three hits and two errors.
• The Scarlet Hawks took the lead with two runs in the sixth, beginning with a solo home run to left center from Christian Lopez.
• The hosts broke the game open in the seventh with six runs to take a 12-4 lead.
• Kyle Baron (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) suffered the loss in 6.0 innings of work, allowing five earned runs.
• Six different Warriors recorded a hit in game one. WLC was hindered by four errors and could not capitalize on seven errors from IIT.

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS

• WLC struck quickly in the opening inning with a solo home run to right from Banse.
• Hanson blasted a solo shot to straightaway center to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead in the second.
• Illinois Tech took the lead in the third with three runs on four hits.
• Wisconsin Lutheran scored two runs on aggressive baserunning from Banse and Jake Schwall (West Allis, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran), who capitalized on a double steal and both scored on wild pitches.
• IIT used a two-out single to tie the game in its half of the sixth.
• WLC placed a three spot on the board in the seventh to take the lead, started off by an RBI single up the middle from Brannigan Hart (Davie, Fla./Western).
• The Hawks answered with a run in the seventh, but Cam Paladines (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) stranded the bases loaded.
• Hart, Banse, and Curtis Engelbrecht (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis./Northland Lutheran) all recorded RBI singles in the eighth to push the Warriors lead to 10-5.
• Banse, Hart, and Schwall recorded multi-hit games to pace the Warriors' offense in the nightcap.
• Dylan Knoepsel (Brillion, Wis./Brillion) earned his first collegiate win in 6.0 innings of work and allowing five runs.

FOR THE FOES

• In game one, Orlando Cardenas-Juan paced the Scarlet Hawks' offense with three hits and an RBI. Kyle Bumpass recorded his first win of the season in 7.1 innings of work, allowing just one earned run.
• Tyler Tucker had three hits for IIT in game two. Dylan Corsi suffered the loss in an inning of relief work.

UP NEXT

• The Warriors return to action on Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. non-conference doubleheader at Beloit (3-7). The Buccaneers are coming off a split against MSOE last Saturday. Links to live stats and video will be available for both games at WLCSports.com.