Baseball takes two from Regis in final home series, finish .500 in RMAC |
| Posted by Administrator on May 06 2009 |
Photo by Cody Riedel
Darren Grace, a sophomore from Blair, dives back to first during the Lopers' game against Regis. The Lopers dropped their final two home game to the Rangers on Saturday, May 2, at Memorial Field.
By Matt Lindsay
Antelope Staff
Although its seven-game win streak came to end, the Loper baseball team still managed to collect a pair of wins against Regis University this past weekend at Memorial Field.
On Friday, the Lopers crushed the Rangers 19-4 in the first game before shutting them out 4-0 in the nightcap. Saturday was a different story as Regis handed the home side losses of 19-10 and 6-5.
In game one on Friday, Kearney senior pitcher Ryan Sheldon was true to form as he struck out eight and walked none in six and one-third innings of work. Offensively, the Lopers scattered 21 hits over nine innings. The team scored five runs in both the second and fifth innings before scoring six times in the sixth.
Blair sophomore center fielder Jason Trulin had a big day at the plate, recording five RBIs. Kearney junior third baseman Blake Cover went three-for-five at the dish, while Persia, Iowa, sophomore designated hitter Mike Stamp went three-for-four, scoring three runs and two RBIs.
In Friday's nightcap, Kearney junior pitcher Jared Loschen followed up Sheldon's gem with one of his own, fanning 11 batters while walking one in seven innings of work. The complete game performance was Loschen's seventh this season, and first complete-game shutout of his career. Naturally, UNK Head Baseball Coach Damon Day was pleased with how his two aces pitched.
"Sheldon set the tone and Loschen followed," Day said. "That's the best game he (Loschen) has thrown all year. He controlled the game and we got some big hits behind him."
Those big hits Day spoke of came in the form of an RBI ground out in the first inning by Lincoln senior right fielder Nate Swearer, and a two-run homer off the bat of Beatrice sophomore third baseman Andrew Haake. Haake ended up having a monster day going a combined five-for-eight at the plate with two home runs, six RBIs and four runs scored.
On Saturday, the Rangers sought revenge on the Lopers by reeling off 20 hits, including four home runs, in the first game of the double-header. Early on, though, it looked like the Lopers carried over their offense from Friday as UNK (24-30, 19-19 RMAC) jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first inning. By the end of the sixth, though, it was all Regis (22-27, 14-21 RMAC) as the Rangers reeled off four runs in the third inning before having back-to-back five-run innings in the fifth and sixth to take a 14-6 lead. In spite of the loss, Swearer finished the game a perfect five-for five with three runs scored. He also recorded a pair of RBIs, giving him 177 for his career, which puts him in third place on UNK's career RBI list.
In the rubber match of the four-game set, Lincoln freshman pitcher Jacob Hiatt was ready to pick up the win, having allowed two runs while fanning three Rangers in four and one-third innings of work, but it wasn't meant to be. Leading 5-3 in the seventh inning with Omaha sophomore pitcher Matt Bogaowski on the mound looking for the save, the Lopers allowed three runs to fall to the Rangers.
Although UNK saw its winning streak come to an end, Day is happy with how his team has progressed throughout the season.
"You have to tip your hat to these kids," Day said. "They could have thrown in the towel a long time ago, but they've made the effort to get better. They faced a little adversity early in the year with all the losses, but they kept grinding."
Up next for the Lopers is the 2009 RMAC tournament, May 6-9, in Pueblo, Colo.
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