VERONA, Wis. – The Edgewood College baseball wrapped up the home portion of their 2013 schedule on Wednesday night with a non-conference doubleheader against Ripon College. The Eagles surrendered five unearned runs in an 11-5 loss in the opener, and watched the Red Hawks score two runs in the eighth inning to take a 3-2 victory in game two.
Edgewood College (12-25) got the jump on the Red Hawks with four runs in the bottom of the second inning. With bases loaded, Kody Parmansingled into left center field to bring home Marc Ostrowski and Alex Jaskulski with the first runs of the game. The next batter, Andrew Lauritzen, singled up the middle for the Eagles third run. The Eagles final run of the inning scored when an errant Red Hawk through went out of play, allowing Parman to score from third.
However, Ripon College (20-12) responded with eight runs, only three of which were earned, over the next four innings. The Eagles only other run of the game came on a two-out RBI double by Jake Zadra, which scored Lauritzen in the fourth inning.
Lauritzen had three hits for the Eagles including a double, marking his team-high seventh game of the season with three or more hits. Jaskulski went 2-for-4 with a double for his team-best 20th multi-hit game of the year. Aaron Schmidt also had two hits for Edgewood College. Taylor Hillmann lasted five innings and allowed three earned runs in suffering the loss. Jacob Yellovich and Brock McGinn pitched the final four innings of the game.
In the second game, Eagle starting pitcher Ryan Busse pitched a terrific game, but didn't get enough run support to get the win. Busse struck out three batters and allowed three earned runs on seven hits in a complete game loss.
Edgewood College grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Nate Averill, singled and eventually scored on Jaskulski RBI single. Ripon College tied the game 1-1 in the sixth inning on an Adam Grambow sacrifice fly. The Eagles regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh on a Marc Ostrowski sacrifice fly to make the score 2-1, but the Red Hawks received an RBI single from Taylor Koth in the eighth inning, followed by a Grambow double that scored Koth all the way from first base for the eventual game-winner.
Brandon Bartels went 2-for-3 in the game, while Averill went 2-for-4 including his first career double. The final games at Stampfl Field this year, marked the final appearances at home for seniors Eric Curtis, Otto Muehlenberg, Tony Ales, Jake Zadra and Brandon Bartels.
Edgewood College will play a doubleheader at Lakeland College to end the regular season on Saturday. The Eagles need a sweep of the Muskies and some help from other teams in the league to reach one of the top six spots in the standings and qualify for the Northern Athletics Conference Tournament.