WAUKESHA, Wis. – The Lakeland University baseball team showed some positive signs but also had rust to shake off after opening its season losing two games to Carroll University Sunday afternoon.
The Muskies fell by scores of 13-4 and 12-7 at Carroll's Frame Park. Lakeland was playing for the first time this season, while the Pioneers with a number of dates in already improved to 5-3 overall.
Lakeland outhit Carroll on the day (22 hits to 20), including a 12-9 advantage in the second game. The Muskies were hit hard by errors in both games, as well as a dispiriting penchant for hitting into double plays in the first game.
While the Pioneers with a number of games under their belt played error-free in the field, Lakeland committed nine errors over the two games, resulting in 10 unearned runs against the Muskies pitching staff.
Carroll scored eight unearned runs on four Lakeland errors in winning the opening game. The Muskies also saw a host of opportunities go by the wayside when they hit into five double plays, tied for the most in an NCAA Division III game so far this season.
OakLee Spens (
Sr.-South Weber, Utah),
Tucker Gegenfurtner (
So.-Onalaska, Wis.) and
Chris Day (
So.-Victorville, Calif.) all had two hits each in the opening game, with Spens and Day both driving in runs.
Logan South (
Fr.-Oswego, Ill.) also singled in a run and drove in another with a sacrifice fly in his Lakeland debut.
The Muskies led for most of the first five innings of the second game before Carroll pulled ahead in the game's latter stages.
Lakeland scored in the top of the first when
Zak Keegan (
Sr.-Frankfort, Ill.) hit a two-run home run for his second collegiate home run and the Muskies' first round-tripper this year. The Pioneers tied it with two in the bottom of the first on a two-run homer by Jimmy Williams, but Lakeland came right back with three in the top of the second.
Caleb Sumsion (
Jr.-Dayton, Nev.) grounded out to the right side to score
Sean Gregorius (
Fr.-Germantown, Wis.), and Spens followed with a two-run single to score Day and
Nick Chiu (
Fr.-Gladstone, Mich.) to make it 5-2.
Carroll scored three in the bottom of the third to tie, but the Muskies went back on top in the fourth when Gregorius led off with a double and Chiu followed with a single to drive him in. The Pioneers tied it back up with a run in the fifth, and then went ahead with a big sixth that included four runs on just two hits. Three walks-including two with the bases loaded-plus an error aided the Carroll rally, and Thomas Ward added a two-run single.
Lakeland scored one more time when Keegan tripled to lead off the eighth and Gegenfurtner singled to center to drive him in and cut the Pioneers' lead to 10-7. Carroll followed with two more in the bottom of the inning, though, and the Muskies went scoreless in the ninth.
Keegan went 3-for-5 in the second game with a single, triple and homer, and Chiu, Gegenfurtner and South all added two hits each. Spens also added two stolen bases.
Lakeland now gets ready for its spring break trip to Florida and the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational with 10 varsity games over seven days. The Muskies open against Gwynedd Mercy (Pa.) University on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Central time, 12:30 p.m. local time in Florida.
