WAUWATOSA, Wis. –
Eli Watkins (
Jr.-Herrin, Ill.) pitched six innings of scoreless relief to combine with
Jonathan Maldonado (
Jr.-La Puente, Calif.) on a shutout as the Lakeland University baseball team completed a doubleheader sweep of Wisconsin Lutheran College Wednesday afternoon.
The Muskies followed up an 11-5 win in the opener with a 4-0 victory in the second game to wrap up their first sweep in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play. Lakeland improved to 12-22 overall and 5-13 in the NACC, and its 12 wins now surpass the team's 11 wins posted all of last season.
The Muskies tied a season high with 19 hits and scored in six of nine innings in never trailing in the first game. Lakeland then shut down WLC (9-25 overall, 3-15 NACC) in the second game and received strong long relief performances in both games.
Maldonado opened the second contest with three scoreless innings, allowing two hits with two strikeouts and three walks. Watkins then came on in the fourth and threw a season-high six innings, scattering six hits and recording a career-high six strikeouts with one walk to improve to 3-1 on the year.
Lakeland took the lead in the fourth when
Sean Gregorius (
So.-Germantown, Wis.) led off with a double and scored on an RBI single by
Bryce Backus (
So.-Kenosha, Wis.), and the Muskies tacked on two more runs in the fifth when Gregorius hit a sacrifice fly to score
Chris Day (
Sr.-Victorville, Calif.) and
Chris Finn (
Jr.-Mapleton, Ill.) singled to score
J.T. Cortinas (
Jr.-Chino Hills, Calif.). Lakeland added an insurance run in the eighth on a run-scoring single by
Jordan Domingue (
Jr.-Victorville, Calif.) to drive in pinch runner
Caleb Sumsion (
Sr.-Dayton, Nev.), who came on after Finn was hit by a pitch to open the frame.
The Muskies took the lead in the first game quickly, scoring three times in the top of the first inning after their first six batters reached base. Finn reached on an error while driving in the first run and Backus and
Mikey Hernandez (
Jr.-Lennox, Calif.) both added RBI singles.
Finn then hit a solo home run to open the third inning and give Lakeland a 4-2 lead, and the Muskies scored three more in the fourth. Cortinas, Gregorius and
Logan South (
So.-Oswego, Ill.) all drove in runs, and Lakeland added one two more in the fifth and single runs in the sixth and ninth innings.
Gregorius went 5-for-6 at the plate with two RBIs and Cortinas was 4-for-6 with four runs scored. Backus, Finn, Hernandez and South all also added two hits each, while
Owen Fekety (
Fr.-Lancaster, Calif.) earned the win by throwing 5 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and three runs with four strikeouts.
Rily Roberts (
So.-Chattanooga, Tenn.) came on with two outs in the eighth and threw 1 1/3 hitless innings to notch his second save of the season.
Lakeland closes its season with its final three NACC doubleheaders all at home, starting with facing Rockford University Saturday for two games starting at noon.
