Baseball Splits Late-Night Opener In Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (WLCSports.com) – The Wisconsin Lutheran College baseball team returned to the diamond on Sunday for the first time in 360 days and split a pair of games against Lawrence inside U.S. Bank Stadium. After dropping the first game by a score of 10-3, the Warriors held off a late Vikings rally for a 5-4 victory in game two.

• Final Scores: Lawrence 10, Wisconsin Lutheran 3; Wisconsin Lutheran 5, Lawrence 4
• Records: Wisconsin Lutheran (1-1), Lawrence (1-1)
• Location: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minn.

• Sophomore Tyler Wroblewski (Sussex, Wis.) singled to lead off the first inning and came around to score on a base hit up the middle by junior Ryan Dominick (Barlett, Ill.). Junior Nick Poblocki (Barlett, Ill.) drove in Dominick with a groundout to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
• Lawrence evened the score with a run in the second and another in the third before WLC regained the lead in the top half of the fifth. After a pair of walks and a hit batter, the Warriors scored on a passed ball. But the Vikings would escape the inning after getting three consecutive players to pop out.
• LU scored twice in the bottom half of the fifth to take a 4-3 lead. One runner scored on a wild pitch, and the second crossed home via a walk.
• A big six-run inning for the Vikings in the sixth gave them a 10-3 lead. Lawrence recorded three triples in the inning and finished with five hits.
• Wroblewski finished with a pair of hits and scored twice for the Warriors. WLC finished with five total hits and drew five walks.
• Senior Jake Wiedower (St. Francis, Wis.) tossed four innings, allowing two unearned runs on two hits while striking out three. Senior Joe Serbiak (Brookfield, Wis.) was charged with the loss.

• Only two baserunners reached safely in the first two innings for either team, with both being thrown out attempting to steal. Lawrence broke through in the top half of the third, scoring one run on a pair of hits.
• The Warriors offense responded with four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-1 lead. With two runners on, junior Matthew Schulenburg (Hampshire, Ill.) doubled to left field, driving in both runners. Junior Evan Sadowski (New Berlin, Wis.) singled to drive home Schulenburg and a triple from sophomore Ryan Theis (Richfield, Wis.) plated one more run.
• A sacrifice fly from senior Jayson Walczak-Zelem (Oak Creek, Wis.) in the fifth gave WLC a 5-1 advantage.
• The Vikings scored two in the sixth on a home run to left field and added one more on a two-out double in the seventh but sophomore Glavine Matthes (Appleton, Wis.) closed the game with a flyout to preserve a 5-4 Warriors win.
• Schulenburg finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored. Freshman Andrew Muffler (Waukesha, Wis.) picked up the win in two innings of relief, striking out three and allowing just one hit.

• Nick Guzzo picked up the win in game one for the Vikings, throwing two scoreless innings in relief. Spenser Ross went 2-for-4 in the opening game, driving in one run and scoring three times.
• Michael Duttlinger was charged with the loss, allowing four runs across four innings. Lawrence recorded five hits in the second game.

• The Warriors will face Ripon (0-3) at Frame Park in Waukesha on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Live stats will be available at WLCSports.com.

BSB: @WLC_Base bounced back from a game one loss to defeat Lawrence 5-4 in game two for its first win of the season early this morning at U.S. Bank Stadium.#WeAreWarriors #d3b pic.twitter.com/u6mA90DNUp

— WLC Warriors (@WLCSports) March 8, 2021

What a wild night! Not our sharpest baseball but we battled and came away with a split against a really fun to watch @LUvikesbaseball team. Incredible experience and definitely coming back. We'll attempt to recap the games once we regain consciousness sometime tomorrow.

— WLC Baseball (@WLC_Base) March 8, 2021

Game 1 Lineup pic.twitter.com/XGXS8bSja9

— WLC Baseball (@WLC_Base) March 8, 2021

This is pretty cool. Gophers-Hoosiers ran long so we'll get going shortly. pic.twitter.com/IFlK7LSQdY

— WLC Baseball (@WLC_Base) March 8, 2021

BSB: @WLC_Base opens its 2021 season tonight with a late-night doubleheader vs. Lawrence at U.S. Bank Stadium.

⚾️Lawrence (DH)
��March 7, 2021
��Minneapolis, Minn.
⏰9 p.m.#d3b

— WLC Warriors (@WLCSports) March 7, 2021