Baseball Celebrates Seniors On Final Day In Florida

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WLCSports.com) – A late rally from the Wisconsin Lutheran College baseball team fell just short as the Warriors closed out their spring break week and season with a 7-5 loss to Bethel (Minn.) on Friday at the Player Development Complex in the final game of the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic.

• Final Score: Bethel (Minn.) 7, Wisconsin Lutheran 5
• Records: Wisconsin Lutheran (0-8), Bethel (Minn.) (4-3)
• Location: Player Development Complex #2, Fort Myers, Fla.

• The Royals strung together a pair of hits in the opening inning, using a triple to right center and a single down the left field line to take a 2-0 lead.
• Junior Jayson Walczak-Zelem (Oak Creek, Wis.) cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the first, sending a pitch over the left field fence for a leadoff home run. It was the first of his career and the first of the season for the Warriors.
• Bethel tacked on a run in each of the third and fourth innings to extend its lead back to three at 4-1. Wisconsin Lutheran threatened when two runners reached base in the third, but was unable to score.
• In the bottom of the sixth, a leadoff single from senior Brannigan Hart (Davie, Fla.) started a two-run inning for the Warriors. Senior Gunner Amelunk (Wales, Wis.) followed with a double to left center, and senior Johnny Offenbacher (Waukesha, Wis.) pushed the first run across with a RBI groundout. Sophomore Nick Poblocki (Bartlett, Ill.) drove home the second run with a double to right, but was later thrown out at the plate trying to score the tying run on a single.
• WLC put runners in scoring position each of the next two innings but was unable to score. The Royals added three insurance runs in the top of ninth to make the score 7-3.
• A leadoff walk and a double by sophomore Ryan Dominick (Bartlett, Ill.) placed runners on second and third with no one out in the ninth. Sophomore Matthew Schulenburg (Hampshire, Ill.) doubled home both runners with one out but the Warriors' rally came up short as they fell 7-5.
• Dominick paced the Warriors with a pair of hits, while also reaching base via a walk. Wisconsin Lutheran finished with nine hits, including five doubles, and seven walks.
• Senior Dylan Knoespel (Brillion, Wis.) tossed a solid 3.0 innings in relief, allowing one earned run while striking out five. Four Warriors hurlers combined for 10 strikeouts in the game.
• The contest marked the final game for WLC's nine seniors; Offenbacher, Hart, Knoespel, Amelunk, Jake Wiedower (St. Francis, Wis.), Ben Veenstra (Evansville, Wis.), Levi Schriefer (San Diego, Calif.), Noah Cook (Marshall, Wis.), and Spencer Michaelis (Wauwatosa, Wis.).

• The Royals also collected nine hits, with three players tallying two each to lead the team. Parker Mullenbach drove home a pair of runs and reached base three times. Connor Malcolm picked up the win in 5.2 innings and Jake Marsh fanned both batters he faced for the save.

• Due to the NACC's recent response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Warriors close their 2020 season with an 0-8 record.