MADISON, Wis. – Edgewood College returned to the friendly surroundings of Stampfl Field on Sunday in hopes of moving closer to clinching a NACC Tournament berth. The Eagles defeated the cold, windy conditions and Lakeland College in game one 8-2, but lost a rain-shortened night cap 9-5 to move to 9-9 in the NACC.
Edgewood College (14-22, 9-9 NACC) put their stamp on the opening game with a hug six-run second inning. The Eagles got a three-run triple from Brad Clark, an RBI double by Danny Appino and three bunt singles in the inning. Edgewood College added another run in the seventh on a Ryan O'Dell RBI single that scored Zack Creekmore to give the Eagles a 7-1 lead. Lakeland added another run in the eighth, but the Eagles answered with a Creekmore RBI single following an Andrew Lauritzen triple, for the final 8-2 margin.
Taylor Hillmann earned his fourth with of the season by pitching 7.2 innings and allowing nine hits. Hillmann forced 15 Muskie ground ball outs. Dan Hoppel entered the game in a jam in the top of the eighth and retired all four batters he faced for his first save of the season.
O'Dell went 3-for-4 to lead the Eagles in hitting. Lauritzen, Clark and Creekmore each had two hits including a triple. Alex Jaskulski added two hits as well.
In game two, the Eagles bounced out to a 4-1 lead after four innings, on the strength of a three-run fourth inning. Brad Clark had an RBI single followed by a successful squeeze bunt by Mitch Marty. Clark scored the fourth run of the game for the Eagles on a wild pitch. However, Lakeland tallied two runs in the fifth on a pair of sacrifice flies and tied the game in the sixth on an RBI single by Tim Kuchenbecker.
Lakeland seized control of the game with four runs in the top of the eighth inning. Kuchenbecker had the big hit again with a two-run double to right field. The Eagles got one back in the bottom of the eighth on a Marty ground out, but Lakeland pushed the score to 9-5 with a run in the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth Creekmore reached first base with one out, but the skies refused to hold the rain back any longer. The storm ended the game and any hope for an Eagles comeback.
Andy Swanson started the game for the Eagles and gave up three earned runs in 5.1 innings pitched. AJ Verhage took the loss in relief after pitching two innings. Clark had two hits and an RBI in the game, while Jaskulski added a double.
Edgewood College remains in fourth place at the moment with one NACC doubleheader remaining against Aurora University next Saturday. On Tuesday night, the Eagles will host Salute to Veterans Night at Stampfl Field. The Edgewood College team will wear special jerseys that will be available for purchase by silent auction during the game. The Eagles play Loras College in a single game at 6:00 p.m.oweverH
