MEQUON, Wis. – Lakeland University's first-ever trip to Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference postseason play ended after two games after Milwaukee School of Engineering defeated the Muskies 9-7 Saturday afternoon at the North Division tourney at Kapco Park.
The fourth-seeded Muskies were the first team eliminated from the double-elimination divisional tourney, with their second loss in less than 24 hours after falling to top seed Marian University Friday night. Lakeland finished the season with a 14-20 overall record and went 0-2 in its first trip to the NACC tourney in 14 years in the conference.
Lakeland finished the season losing its final eight games and once again played from behind much of the way even after an early rally. The Muskies fell in a four-run hole in the fourth inning and were unable to battle all the way back despite putting pressure on the second-seeded Raiders.
MSOE (17-15 overall) scored four times in the fourth inning to take a 7-3 lead, including a bases-loaded three-run double by Charlie Gannon to break a 3-3 tie. The Muskies would get no closer than two runs the rest of the way, despite scoring two runs each in the sixth and eighth innings.
Lakeland would score twice in the sixth as
Collin Schutz (
Sr.-Saint Amant, La.) and
Lino Figueroa (
Sr.-Westchester, Ill.) both scored on separate wild pitches to cut MSOE's lead to 7-5, but the Raiders answered with a two-run homer by Cannon in the top of the eighth to push the lead back to four runs. The Muskies then came back with two in the bottom of the eighth after
Jack Banks (
Sr.-Mountain View, Calif.) hit a double down the left field line to score Figueroa and
Oaklee Spens (
Fr.-Burbank, Calif.), but Lakeland would get no closer.
The hit by Banks would be the Muskies' last, as a groundout ended the eighth inning and Lakeland went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth on three consecutive groundouts.
MSOE took a 3-0 lead after 2 1/2 innings with an RBI double by Kyle Labedz in the second and a two-run homer by Micah Overley in the third. The Muskies came back to tie it in the third when
Nathan Hemmerling (
So.-Riverside, Calif.) hit a two-run homer for his second home run in the tourney, and
Hunter Frisk (
So.-Manteca, Calif.) added an RBI single to score Spens to tie the game at 3-3.
Frisk finished with three hits and Hemmerling added two hits and also reached on a walk. Eight Lakeland hitters posted at least one hit and the Muskies finished with 11 hits. Hemmerling took the loss pitching, allowing nine hits and seven runs over four innings, while Banks and Schutz combined to throw five innings in relief and allowed two hits and two runs.
The fourteen wins was still Lakeland's most successful season since winning 17 games in 2012, and the Muskies' eight NACC wins were their most since finishing 11-11 in conference in 2011.
