RANTOUL, Ill. (WLCSports.com) – A ninth-inning rally spoiled the season opener as Wisconsin Lutheran College fell 7-5 to Elmhurst on Saturday at Rantoul Family Sports Complex. The Warriors dropped the second game of the doubleheader, 10-0, in seven innings against UW-Platteville.
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Elmhurst 7, Wisconsin Lutheran 5
The Blue Jays got the scoring started in the first inning with a run-scoring fielder's choice, but the Warriors answered quickly with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame. After sophomore
Ryan Pierquet (Chilton, Wis.) and junior
Ian Rintelman (Muskego, Wis.) walked, junior
Colt Ratliff (Oxford, Ga.) singled to knot the score at 1-1. WLC took the lead after Rintelman stole home as part of a double-steal with sophomore
Jacob Lorbecki (Richfield, Wis.) swiping second base.
EU took the lead with a two-run top of the fourth before freshman
Lincoln Thede (Appleton, Wis.) singled to the opposite field to tie it up at 3-3. The teams traded a run each in the fifth with another RBI single from Ratliff before the Warriors took a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning on an RBI sacrifice fly from junior
Aiden Montgomery (St. Louis, Mo.).
Wisconsin Lutheran held the lead until the final frame before Elmhurst capitalized on an error to score three unearned runs to take a late 7-5 lead.
Ratliff paced the Warriors' offense with three hits and a pair of RBI. Pierquet, Lorbecki, and Thede each added two hits. Senior
Jordan Bierdemann (Franklin, Wis.) did not factor into the decision, but threw 6.0 innings and allowed three earned runs with no walks in the season debut.
Four different Blue Jays (2-1) had a two-hit performances. Michael Conway earned the win on the mound with 2.0 shutout innings in relief.
UW-Platteville 10, Wisconsin Lutheran 0
WLC threatened with a runner in scoring position in each of the first two innings in the nightcap but was unable to push a run across the plate. The Pioneers broke the game open early with a three-run second inning and another tally in the third to lead 4-0.
Wisconsin Lutheran loaded the bases with just one out in the top of the fourth, but UWP escaped the jam with a popout and lineout on the infield. The game remained 4-0 over the middle innings before UW-Platteville exploded for six runs on just two hits in the seventh, leading to a 10-0 run-rule final.
The Warriors had seven different players tally a hit in the contest, while Rintelman and Ratliff each recorded a double.
Sam Callow earned the win with 6.0 shutout innings on the mound for the Pioneers (3-1), while Trinity Beland tallied three hits and three RBI at the plate.
WLC (0-2) returns to action on Sunday against Beloit (1-1) with first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m. at Rantoul Family Sports Complex.
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