FORT MYERS, Fla. (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College recorded 21 hits and had five players tally multi-hit performances in a 15-11 victory over Hiram on Tuesday at Terry Park in the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic. The 21 hits are the most in a single game since the 2010 season.
The Warriors used a two-out rally in the first inning to jump on the scoreboard early on a RBI single from sophomore
Ian Rintelman (Muskego, Wis.) to give WLC a 2-0 advantage. The Terriers tied the game in the bottom half of the frame with a pair of runs. With runners on second and third in the third inning, Rintelman delivered again with a two-run triple before scoring on a throwing error. Wisconsin Lutheran added another run in the frame when freshman
Ryan Pierquet (Chilton, Wis.) plated freshman
Colin Nigl (Neenah, Wis.) to push the Warriors' lead to 6-2. Once again, HC plated a pair of runs in the bottom half of the third to cut its deficit in half, 6-4.
With the bases loaded and two down in the fourth, WLC plated another run on a walk drawn by freshman
Jacob Lorbecki (Richfield, Wis.) to lead 7-4. After Hiram trimmed the deficit to 7-5, Wisconsin Lutheran broke the game open with a trio of runs on five hits in the seventh inning as junior
Lucas Oswald (Muskego, Wis), Pierquet, and sophomore
Colt Ratliff (Oxford, Ga.) all recorded RBI in the frame. After the Terriers got a run back, the Warriors scored four runs, all with two outs, to extend the lead to 14-6 and was capped off by a two-run single by Ratliff. Junior
Oliver Lopeztello (Chicago, Ill.) added another run in the ninth before HC threatened with a four-run rally, but junior
Adam Meier (Elkhorn, Wis.) closed out the 15-11 decision for WLC.
Rintelman led Wisconsin Lutheran (2-5) by going 5-for-6 with three RBI and three runs scored. Ratliff added three RBI with his own 4-for-5 performance, while Lopeztello and Pierquet each contributed three hits each. Freshman
Brett Gatch (Hometown, Ill.) earned his first career win on the mound after allowing no earned runs in 3.0 innings out of the bullpen.
Hiram (3-3) tallied 13 hits of its own in the contest with Tyler Fernan going 4-for-5 with three RBI and a pair of runs scored. Sam Boyle suffered the loss on the mound for the Terriers, allowing six runs in 2.2 innings.
The Warriors resume action at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic on Wednesday against Alfred St. (7-4) with first pitch scheduled for 9 a.m. ET at Terry Park. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
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