WAUWATOSA, Wis. (WLCSports.com) – Senior
Matt Brissette (Mukwonago, Wis.) delivered 6.2 innings and allowed just two earned runs while the offense plated six two-out runs in the seventh to lead Wisconsin Lutheran College to a 10-4 victory over Illinois Tech in game two of a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference doubleheader. The Scarlet Hawks managed a split with the Warriors with a 6-3 decision in the series opener on Saturday at Neumann Family Baseball Field.
GAME 1
After each team stranded a runner in scoring position in the second inning, WLC got the scoring started in the third with three two-out runs. With the bases loaded, Wisconsin Lutheran plated a run on a throwing error before senior
Noah Zaccanti (Geneva, Ill.) singled through the hole to plate sophomore
Colt Ratliff (Oxford, Ga.) and
Nolan Hodgins (Caledonia, Wis.).
IIT finally broke through in the fifth with a five-run rally, highlighted by a two-run homerun, to take a 5-3 lead. Illinois Tech added an insurance run in the seventh with a solo blast to left field to extend its lead to 6-3.
The Warriors attempted to rally with two outs in the seventh but left the bases loaded on a strikeout. WLC managed to get the first two runners on base in the eighth, but the Scarlet Hawks escaped the jam after inducing an inning-ending double play. Wisconsin Lutheran tried one final two-out rally in the ninth and brought the tying run to the plate before IIT closed out the game with a punchout.
The Warriors stranded 13 runners on base in the opener. Zaccanti paced WLC with a 3-for-5 performance at the plate and threw out a pair of baserunners behind the dish. Senior
Elijah Shevey (Muskego, Wis.) added three hits, while Hodgins reached base three times with a trio of walks in the contest.
Michael Paxson and Tyler Gutsfeld led Illinois Tech with a homerun as they were joined by three other Scarlet Hawks who recorded two hits in the game. Joseph Belflower allowed three runs, none earned, in 5.0 innings to earn the win, while John Gori recorded the save with 4.0 scoreless relief frames.
GAME 2
Each team traded two scoreless frames to open the game before Wisconsin Lutheran jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third. Junior
Oliver Lopeztello (Chicago, Ill.) started the rally with a leadoff double before scoring on an error. Later in the frame, Ratliff plated Montgomery for the second run of the inning. In the fourth, IIT threatened with runners on second and third with just one out, but Brissette escaped the jam without any harm on an infield popout and a flyout to center.
The Warriors doubled their lead to 4-0 in the fifth when Ratliff launched his fifth homerun of the season, a two-run shot to left field. Illinois Tech got a run back in the top of the sixth, trimming its deficit to 4-1.
With two outs in the seventh, WLC plated six runs to push its advantage to 10-1. Lopeztello got the scoring started with a single to plate Zaccanti. After Shevey was hit by a pitch to load the bases, sophomore
Aiden Montgomery (St. Louis, Mo.) tallied a free RBI with a walk. Wisconsin Lutheran got another run on a fielding error before Hodgins cleared the bases with a three-run double to cap off the rally.
The Scarlet Hawks got three runs back in the top of the seventh, but freshman
Colin Nigl (Neenah, Wis.) entered the game out of the bullpen to keep the lead at six runs for the Warriors before delivering two more scoreless frames to salvage the doubleheader split.
Zaccanti recorded three more hits in the nightcap and reached base in all four ABs. Hodgins and Ratliff each added a trio of RBI, while Lopeztello went 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Brissette earned his second win of the season, working around seven hits with four punchouts in 6.2 innings. Nigl allowed just one walk in 2.1 scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts.
Phillip Bentz and Luke Yachnin each went 2-for-4 for IIT (10-16, 6-6 NACC).
Wisconsin Lutheran (13-12, 8-4 NACC) continues its homestand when it welcomes Benedictine (15-13, 7-7 NACC) to Neumann Family Baseball Field on Tuesday for a 12 p.m. NACC doubleheader. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
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