Auburndale, FL - On day four of the Florida Spring Break trip, the Martin Luther College Knights broke into the win column with a doubleheader sweep against the Medaille Mavericks from Buffalo, NY. MLC won the first game in close fashion,
6-5, while defeating the Mavs
20-7 in the second contest.
MLC 6, Medaille 5
The bats got hot from the opening pitch, as the Knights wasted no time in taking the lead, scoring 5 runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Mavs would go on to score the next four runs and the Knights found themselves with a 5-4 lead after 5 innings. Medaille would eventually tie the game the following inning, but MLC countered the tie by scoring their final run in the bottom of the sixth. Pitcher
Matt Rieger would then go on to close out the game in the top of the seventh, as the Knights held onto secure their first victory of the season.
Pitcher
Zach Klement (1-0) picked up the win for the Knights. Klement displayed solid control on the mound and only allowed 4 runs (1 earned) with 5 strikeouts in five innings pitched.
Caleb Heckendorf went 2-3 with a crucial triple and run scored, while
Alex Ritter had 2 hits at the second base position.
Mason Cox and
Spencer Lilienthal also were pivotal towards the Knights' quick start, with Cox going 1-4 with one run scored and an RBI. Lilienthal had 2 runs scored.
MLC 20, Medaille 7
In Game 2, MLC found early success by scoring another 5 runs again in the first inning. This time Medaille struck back with 5 runs of their own to lock the game up with a 5-5 tie after the top of the second inning. The two teams would trade off runs the next few innings and the Knights would eventually separate from the Mavs by scoring 11 runs in the seventh inning to lead them to a 20-7 win to finish out the day of baseball.
The Knights received another impressive performance from Cox, who was 3-6 with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. Lilienthal had an all around game for the Knights, going 4-6 at the plate with a career high 4 hits and 5 runs scored. The junior also threw the distance with a complete game in which he struck out 4 Medaille batters and only allowed 2 earned runs.
Jackson Lindemann would also contribute to the cause, with 2 RBI's on 3 base hits and one run scored.
