Pair Of Leads Slip Away In Wisconsin Lutheran's Season Finale

WAUWATOSA, Wis. (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College was unable to hold onto a pair of early leads on Sunday in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference doubleheader season finale setback to Illinois Tech. The Scarlet Hawks defeated the Warriors by scores of 9-8 in 11 innings and 17-11 at Neumann Family Field.

WLC jumped on IIT (21-19, 14-10 NACC) with a five-run first inning in the opener. Seniors Ryan Dominick (Bartlett, Ill.) and Carter Raabe (Mukwonago, Wis.) each collected RBI singles and senior Danny Cain (Jackson, Wis.) cleared the bases with a three-run double. Raabe recorded a second-inning RBI single as the score reached 6-0. 

Illinois Tech started to chip away with single runs in the third, fifth, and sixth to trim its deficit in half. The Scarlet Hawks added two runs in the seventh, another in the eighth, and two more in the ninth to jump in front 8-6.

In the last of the ninth, junior Henry Strupp (Watertown, Wis.) tied the score at 8-8 with a two-run home run over the left field fence. Junior Jake Sillan (Castle Rock, Colo.) was left stranded at second following a leadoff double in the 10th.

IIT scored the go-ahead run on a two-out double in the top of the 11th, and Wisconsin Lutheran left runners on the corners in its last at-bat when the game ended.

Raabe finished with three hits, two RBI, and a run for the Warriors. Dominick and freshman Eli Michaelis (Wauwatosa, Wis.) also had two hits each. Cain drove in three runs, Strupp two, and Dominick one. 

WLC tacked on another five-spot in the first inning of game two, receiving RBI from Cain, Raabe, freshman Tim Frerking (Oconomowoc, Wis.), and Strupp. Frerking drew a bases loaded walk in the second inning for a 6-0 Wisconsin Lutheran lead.

After Illinois Tech scored its first run in the second, the Warriors answered with three unearned runs in the third, including a RBI single from Raabe for a 9-1 advantage. 

The Scarlet Hawks grabbed the lead with 10 runs on nine hits in the fourth inning, with all runs coming after two outs. 

WLC added another unearned run in the fourth when Cain reached on a fielder's choice and freshman Oliver Lopeztello (Chicago, Ill.) scored from third for an 11-10 deficit.

Illinois Tech tacked on single runs in the fifth and seventh, and finished with a four-run frame in the ninth. Wisconsin Lutheran got a RBI groundout from senior Joseph Cook (Marshall, Wis.) in the ninth for its final run.

Frerking, Raabe, Cain, and sophomore Noah Zaccanti (Geneva, Ill.) tallied two hits apiece in the nightcap. Raabe drove in three runs, while Frerking and Cain collected two each. Lopeztello drew four of the team's 10 walks.

The Warriors wrap up their 2023 season 5-31 overall and 4-20 in the NACC.