APPLETON, Wis. — The Knox College baseball team was unable to duplicate its success from yesterday at Lawrence University as the host Vikings took both ends of a doubleheader, 5-2 and 9-7, to win the series at Whiting Field on Saturday afternoon. Taylor Freeman hit home runs in both games for Lawrence (13-14, 7-5 Midwest Conference), while junior Thomas Wilmot had four hits on the day with a long ball of his own for the Prairie Fire (14-14, 6-6 MWC).
Freeman was 4-for-4 in the opener, belting a solo homer and scoring three of the five Lawrence runs. But it was C.J. Filipek's two-run double in the first that gave the Vikings the early lead.
Senior Etienne Thomas got one of those runs back by lofting a sacrifice fly in the second after Wilmot doubled junior Andrew Garrett to third. But Freeman reclaimed that run with his round-tripper in the third.
Again Knox closed to within a run, this time on an RBI single off the bat of first-year Hayden Derlein in the fifth, only to have the Vikings counter with two in the bottom half, ending the scoring for the game.
Elden Santana (5-1) threw eight innings of two-run ball to pick up the victory on the mound, giving up six hits and three walks while striking out eight. Shane Foley worked around a pair of hit batters in the ninth to earn his fifth save.
Junior Jeff Ripka (4-3) suffered the loss for surrendering five runs on 11 hits and two walks over 6.1 stanzas. Classmate Ethan Rompala-Matthews performed well in relief, holding the Vikings scoreless while striking out four of the six batters he faced.
It looked like the second game would get completely away from Knox when Lawrence broke open a 1-1 game in the second with six runs, three on a Freeman four-bagger. And when the Vikings tallied two more in the fifth, they enjoyed a 9-1 lead.
But the smoldering Prairie Fire ignited in the sixth, the spark coming in the form of Wilmot's long home run, his second of the season and in as many days. Knox plated three more runs, whittling its deficit down to four at 9-5.
The Prairie Fire had their chances in the final innings but left runners at second and third in the eighth. Then in the ninth, the first three batters reached base, the last being an RBI double courtesy of sophomore Tyler Kemp, bringing the tying run to the plate with the top of the order due up. A grounder to short allowed another run to score, but that was ll Knox could muster as the game ended on a routine grounder to short.
Wilmot, Thomas and senior Tre Chatman III each had two hits for the Prairie Fire, and sophomore Nicholas Nitti walked four times (tying a school record) while Kemp and sophomore Tyler Thiem each drove in two runs. First-year Jacob Halseth (3-3) lasted only two innings and was tagged with the loss.
Conner Robertson (1-3) secured his first win of the season with five innings of two-hit ball, allowing just one run while walking five and fanning five. Freeman was 3-for-4 with three RBIs to lead the 14-hit Viking attack.
Knox will continue its nine-game road trip with a key doubleheader at Beloit College (19-11, 7-5 MWC) on Tuesday, April 22. The games will be streamed live by Beloit, available for viewing (along with live stats) through PrairieFire.Knox.edu, the official website of Knox Athletics.
