WINTER HAVEN, Fla.- After a day off, following two wins on Monday, the Rockford University baseball team returned to action Wednesday morning for the first of two games. Their first game was against the Becker College Hawks (2-4) and the second game is against the Rhodes College Lynx (12-4). Rockford's bats continued to stay hot in game one against Becker and a six-run second ledto a 10-4 victory.
The Regents got on the board first thanks to a RBI double by Chris Senn (Apple Valley, Calif./Silverado), scoring Cole Logemann (Lena, Ill./Lena-Winslow) who had been hit-by-a pitch a few pitches earlier. Rockford then exploded in the second inning. Chris Holke (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) walked to start the inning and Seth Dascher (Lena, Ill./Lena-Winslow) followed with a hit-by-pitch. Matt Szytz (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) then hit a sacrifice bunt and reached second thanks to a throwing error. Holke scored on the play and Dascher advanced to third. Matt Grimes (O;Fallon, Mo./Fort Zumwalt West) and Logemann walked, with Logemann's walk forcing in a run. Senn then hit another double resulting in two more runs. After a pitching change Terry Wiltshire (Elizabeth, Ill./River Ridge) hit a RBI single to right to score Logemann. Brian Wiest (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) would ground out to first base to score Senn for the last run of the inning.
Rockford tacked on one run in the third, fourth, and eighth innings. Dascher led off the bottom of the third inning with a single to shortstop and advanced to second on a single by Szytz. After a strike out both runners stole and then Logemann grounded out to score Dascher. Kyle LaMore (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley) hit his second home run of the spring trip in the bottom of the fourth. The last Regent run came in the eighth inning with Senn hitting a sacrifice fly to right field to score Logemann, who had just tripled to left center field.
On the mound for the Regents was sophomore Jake McKnight (Monroe Center, Ill./Stillman Valley). Rockford turned double-plays in the first and second for McKnight and four total in the game. McKnight pitched five innings to earn his second victory of the season. He gave up seven hits, one walk, two earned runs, and he struck out three. Bill Fell (Lake Villa, Ill./Lakes Community) and Eric Miller (Cudahy, Wis./Cudahy) combined for four shut-out innings in relief, giving up only one hit.
Rockford returns to the field tomorrow for its third double-header in four days. Game one is against New Jersey City College at 10:30 a.m. CST. The second game is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. CST against College of New Jersey.
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