FOND DU LAC, Wis.- Fresh off its hard fought sweep on Saturday, the Rockford College baseball team traveled back into Wisconsin looking to capture another win or two this time against the Marian University Sabres. Last season the Regents swept the Sabres with relative ease 14-6 and 9-5 to improve their record to 15-6 overall against Marian and 11-3 in Northern Athletics Conference play. This year however was a complete reversal as Rockford fell 7-0 and 7-6 to Marian.
The opener was tough sledding for the Regents offense, as it was unable to solve Marian's pitching. Rockford stranded 11 runners on base including leaving at least one runner in scoring position in 6 of the 9 innings. Senior Daryn Streed (Belvidere, Ill./North) and junior Terry Wiltshire (Elizabeth, Ill./River Ridge) were bright spots offensively for Rockford. Streed was an impressive 2-3 with a pair of doubles while Wiltshire was 1-2 and also reached base on a walk. However despite not being able to score any runs, the Regents were down just 2-0 heading into the fifth inning. The Marian offense then exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fifth to put the game out of reach and cruise to a 7-0 win.
After a slow start offensively for both teams in game two, Rockford and Marian combined to score 13 runs over the final 3 and 1/2 innings. The Sabres struck first in the bottom of the sixth scoring two unearned runs to grab a 2-0 lead. The Regents answered right back with 3 unearned runs of their own in the top of the seventh to take their first lead of the day. Following a leadoff error, Chris Holke (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) ripped a double to center field to put runners on second and third with no outs. Left fielder Matt Grimes (O'Fallon, Mo./Fort Zumwalt West) then drove in the first run of the day for Rockford with a sacrifice fly. Wiltshire followed with an RBI groundout to tie the game, and Jacob Gorsuch (Cherry Valley, Ill./Jefferson) put Rockford up 3-2 with an RBI double. After Marian tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the 8th, Rockford retook the lead the top of the ninth with another 3-run inning. Gorsuch put the Regents back on top when he drove in the first run of the inning and reached base on an error. Chris Senn (Apple Valley, Calif./Silverado) and Steed extended the Rockford lead to 6-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth off a sacrifice fly and an RBI single respectively. Unfortunately the final half inning did not go as planned as Marian scored 4 unearned runs off 3 Rockford errors including an error on the final play that allowed the winning run to score.
Despite the loss, the Rockford pitching staff threw very well giving up just one earned run in game two. Regents starter Michael Kiviranta (Schaumburg, Ill./Hoffman Estates) recorded yet another quality start on Sunday. Kiviranta threw 7.1 innings surrendering only 1 earned run while scattering 7 hits. The sophomore also struck out a season-high 8 batters. James Freeman (Berwyn, Ill./Morton West) and Sean Gillette (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) combined to throw the remaining 1.1 innings. The pair surrendered a total of 4 hits and 0 earned runs.
The Regents baseball team will open the home portion of its schedule on Saturday, April 13th against rival Aurora University. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for noon at Aviators Stadium.
