Brandon Ward
Knox College
Brandon Ward struck out eight, a career-high against a Midwest Conference team.
8
Winner Knox KNOX 14-12, 6-4 MWC
6
Lawrence LU 11-14, 5-5 MWC
Winner
Knox KNOX
14-12, 6-4 MWC
8
Final
6
Lawrence LU
11-14, 5-5 MWC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Knox KNOX 2 0 1 0 2 0 3 0 0 8 11 2
Lawrence LU 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 2 6 10 0

W: Ward, Brandon (4-1) L: LaCien, Richie (1-2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Prairie Fire Take First Game at Lawrence, 8-6

Brandon Ward pitched eight strong and Thomas Wilmot crushed his first career home run

APPLETON, Wis. — Senior Brandon Ward pitched eight-plus strong innings and junior Thomas Wilmot launched a three-run homer — the first of his career — in Midwest Conference baseball action on Friday afternoon to carry visiting Knox College (14-12, 6-4 MWC) to an 8-6 victory at Lawrence University (11-14, 5-5 MWC).

Both teams dented the scoreboard in the first with first-year Hayden Derlein delivering a two-run single in the top half for the Prairie Fire, and Taylor Freeman trotting home in the bottom half after the throw on his steal of third was errant, leaving Knox with a 2-1 lead.

A wild pitch allowed Derlein to scamper home with the third Prairie Fire run in the third, but the Vikings battled back to tie the game in the fourth with a pair of runs. Tate Hartlaub drove in the tying run from second with a two-out, seeing-eye grounder through the right side.

Knox responded quickly as junior Andrew Garrett ripped a two-run double into the right-center gap, plating Derlein as well as sophomore Nicholas Nitti all the way from first with a head-first slide across the plate.

It was Wilmot's turn to do some damage as he gave the Prairie Fire some breathing room in the seventh, swatting his three-run four-bagger to center field. The long ball proved to be important as Lawrence blasted a solo shot in the seventh and a two-out, two-run round-tripper just inside the foul pole in the ninth before junior Brady Bertrand got the final out of the game swinging at strike three.

Ward (4-1) allowed five runs in his career-long eight-plus innings on the mound to earn his team-leading fourth win of the season, walking three and striking out a season-high eight batters, which is a personal best against a Midwest Conference team. Wilmot and Derlein each reached base four times, the former going 1-for-2 with his home run, three RBIs, two walks and a hit by pitch, while the latter was 3-for-4 with a walk, two runs and two RBIs to lead the 11-hit attack.

Richie LaCien (1-2) was pegged with the defeat for yielding five runs on seven hits and three walks over five frames, striking out three.

Knox — tied for second in the league standings with Beloit — and the Vikings will conclude their three-game series with a doubleheader tomorrow, beginning at 11 a.m. The games will be streamed live by Lawrence, available for viewing through the official website of Knox Athletics, PrairieFire.Knox.edu.

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