Box Score (Game 1)
Box Score (Game 2)
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The Edgewood College baseball team got the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational off to a strong start with a doubleheader sweep of fellow Wisconsin school Ripon College. The Eagles received strong starting pitching from Blake O'Brien and Glenn Nowell to defeat the Red Hawks by scores of 4-1 and 5-3 on the campus of Polk State College.
Edgewood College (2-1) scored all the runs they would need to win the first game in the first inning. A pair of walks from Ripon College starter Jason Wierschke put two runners on with two outs. Andrew King, Treye Dennison and Ryan O'Dell strung together three straight RBI singles to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead before Ripon College (0-3) could even get to the plate.
O'Brien didn't allow a Red Hawk hit until the fourth inning and then managed to get out of two serious jams unscathed. In the fourth, a walk and two singles loaded the bases for Ripon College with nobody out, but O'Brien reached back and struck out the 6-7-8 hitters in order to end the threat. O'Brien found trouble again in the fifth when Taylor Koth singled to load the bases again, this time with two outs. The Eagles turned to Brock McGinn out of their bullpen who coaxed a ground ball out of Adam Grambow to end the inning.
The Eagles extended their lead to 4-0 with a run in the top of the fifth inning. Scott Ortega doubled and moved to third on Jake Zadra's sacrifice bunt. From there, Mike Selvaggi singled home Ortega. The hit for Selvaggi gave him a 19-game hitting streak. He added a hit in the second game of the doubleheader to extend his hitting streak to 20 games, which tied the third longest hitting streak in school history, established last season by Jimy Landwehr.
Ripon managed a run in the sixth inning off Eagle reliever Blake Hunt, but Connor Lenz came on to pitch the seventh for the Eagles and closed out the game for his first career save. Ortega led the Eagle hitters with a double and two runs scored. O'Brien went 4.2 innings, allowed four hits, no runs and struck out eight Red Hawks for his first win of his sophomore season.
In the second game, Ripon College benefitted from two Edgewood College errors and scored twice on RBI fielder's choice plays for a fast 2-0 lead. The Eagles erased the Red Hawks' lead in the bottom of the inning on RBI singles Selvaggi and King. Edgewood College grabbed the lead with a manufactured run in the second inning. O'Dell walked with one out and moved to second on Ryan Walker's sacrifice bunt. Dennison then brought O'Dell home from second base with an RBI single.
The Eagles added another run in the fourth when Walker drove home Ortega who had reached with a leadoff single. Ripon College cut the deficit to 4-3 on a sixth inning Kyle Bosquez sacrifice fly, but Mitch Mogensen pushed the margin back to 5-3 with a pinch hit RBI double in the bottom half of the sixth. The Eagles again called on Lenz to finish the game in the seventh and he responded with his second save of the day.
Starting pitcher Nowell settled in nicely after a shaky first inning from his defense. The junior pitcher went 5.2 innings, gave up five hits and two earned runs for his first win of the season. Seven different Eagles accounted for the team's seven hits. The Eagles struck out just once against Ripon starting pitcher Tom Albrecht.
Edgewood College will reload for another doubleheader on Monday against Greenville College (Ill.). The Eagles and Panthers will throw out the first pitch at 1:30 p.m. local time at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven.
Box Score (Game 2)
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The Edgewood College baseball team got the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational off to a strong start with a doubleheader sweep of fellow Wisconsin school Ripon College. The Eagles received strong starting pitching from Blake O'Brien and Glenn Nowell to defeat the Red Hawks by scores of 4-1 and 5-3 on the campus of Polk State College.
Edgewood College (2-1) scored all the runs they would need to win the first game in the first inning. A pair of walks from Ripon College starter Jason Wierschke put two runners on with two outs. Andrew King, Treye Dennison and Ryan O'Dell strung together three straight RBI singles to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead before Ripon College (0-3) could even get to the plate.
O'Brien didn't allow a Red Hawk hit until the fourth inning and then managed to get out of two serious jams unscathed. In the fourth, a walk and two singles loaded the bases for Ripon College with nobody out, but O'Brien reached back and struck out the 6-7-8 hitters in order to end the threat. O'Brien found trouble again in the fifth when Taylor Koth singled to load the bases again, this time with two outs. The Eagles turned to Brock McGinn out of their bullpen who coaxed a ground ball out of Adam Grambow to end the inning.
The Eagles extended their lead to 4-0 with a run in the top of the fifth inning. Scott Ortega doubled and moved to third on Jake Zadra's sacrifice bunt. From there, Mike Selvaggi singled home Ortega. The hit for Selvaggi gave him a 19-game hitting streak. He added a hit in the second game of the doubleheader to extend his hitting streak to 20 games, which tied the third longest hitting streak in school history, established last season by Jimy Landwehr.
Ripon managed a run in the sixth inning off Eagle reliever Blake Hunt, but Connor Lenz came on to pitch the seventh for the Eagles and closed out the game for his first career save. Ortega led the Eagle hitters with a double and two runs scored. O'Brien went 4.2 innings, allowed four hits, no runs and struck out eight Red Hawks for his first win of his sophomore season.
In the second game, Ripon College benefitted from two Edgewood College errors and scored twice on RBI fielder's choice plays for a fast 2-0 lead. The Eagles erased the Red Hawks' lead in the bottom of the inning on RBI singles Selvaggi and King. Edgewood College grabbed the lead with a manufactured run in the second inning. O'Dell walked with one out and moved to second on Ryan Walker's sacrifice bunt. Dennison then brought O'Dell home from second base with an RBI single.
The Eagles added another run in the fourth when Walker drove home Ortega who had reached with a leadoff single. Ripon College cut the deficit to 4-3 on a sixth inning Kyle Bosquez sacrifice fly, but Mitch Mogensen pushed the margin back to 5-3 with a pinch hit RBI double in the bottom half of the sixth. The Eagles again called on Lenz to finish the game in the seventh and he responded with his second save of the day.
Starting pitcher Nowell settled in nicely after a shaky first inning from his defense. The junior pitcher went 5.2 innings, gave up five hits and two earned runs for his first win of the season. Seven different Eagles accounted for the team's seven hits. The Eagles struck out just once against Ripon starting pitcher Tom Albrecht.
Edgewood College will reload for another doubleheader on Monday against Greenville College (Ill.). The Eagles and Panthers will throw out the first pitch at 1:30 p.m. local time at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven.