Lawrence baseball edges Ripon

(LAWRENCE ATHLETICS)  APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University baseball team posted a 5-4 walk-off win over Ripon College on Tuesday in game one of a Midwest Conference doubleheader at Whiting Field.
CJ Filipek’s single in the bottom of the ninth scored Tate Hartlaub to deliver the walk-off victory. The second game of the doubleheader was a wild one and was halted by darkness with Ripon leading 16-14 through seven innings. That game will be completed next Wednesday at Ripon.
Hartlaub went 2-for-4 and scored three runs, and Shane Santaga was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Lawrence’s Taylor Freeman also belted a two-run homer, his eighth of the season.
Lawrence (14-14, 8-5 MWC) trailed 3-0 through two innings, but Freeman hit a towering two-run homer in the bottom of the third to trim the margin to 3-2. The Vikings then tied the game in the fourth after putting runners at the corners with two outs. Lawrence executed a double steal with Santaga scoring to tie the game at 3-3.
Ripon (12-18, 6-7) grabbed the lead back with a run in the fifth, but the Vikings tied it again in the seventh. Hartlaub started the seventh with a single, and Sage Beebe-Jenny laced a double to right to score Hartlaub and tie the game at 4-4.
Hartlaub started the winning rally in the bottom of the ninth wit ha single. A balk allowed Hartlaub to advance to second, and Beebe-Jenny executed a sacrifice bunt to move Hartlaub to third with one out. The Red Hawks intentionally worked the red-hot Freeman to put runners at first and third. Filipek launched a high drive to left, which hit off the fence and allowed Hartlaub to score the winning run.
Shane Foley worked around a pair of singles in the top of the ninth with the help of two strikeouts to pick up the victory for the Vikings. He improved to 2-0 on the season.