ROMEOVILLE, Ill. -- Sophomore
Nicholas Rana and junior
Max Widmar combined to pitch a six-hit shutout leading Wisconsin-Parkside to a 3-0 victory over Lewis in game two of a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader and the Rangers swept the Flyers on Friday at Brennan Field.
Wisconsin-Parkside, which improved to 8-8 overall and 2-0 in the GLVC, won the first game 10-8 by rallying for three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Game two of the doubleheader belonged to Rana and Widmar as they dominated the Lewis batters. Rana worked the first 5.0 innings and allowed five hits and struck out two hitters and did not walk a batter to pick up the win, while Widmar came into the game after a lightning delay and allowed just one hit in his 2.0 innings to earn the save.
Rana and Widmar got all the offensive support they would need in the bottom of the first inning.
Kyle Schulz and
Troy Bittenbender led off the game with back-to-back singles for the Rangers placing runners on the corners with no outs. Bittenbender was picked off first base, but in the ensuing rundown Schulz scampered home with the first run of the game.
Wisconsin-Parkside stretched the lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning. With one out,
Zach Thompson lined a double to right center and the Rangers loaded the bases when
Domenic Hammudeh was hit by a pitch and
Trent Muscat drew a walk. The Rangers cashed in on the opportunity when Schulz reached on an infield single, which allowed Thompson to score.
Wisconsin-Parkside tacked on a run in the sixth inning when Bittenbender singled to left to score Muscat.
Schulz and Bittenbender led the Rangers in game two with two hits each, while
Kyohei Makita, Widmar and Thompson all had base hits.
Wisconsin-Parkside raced out to a big early lead in the opener of the doubleheader, but used a late rally to overcome the Flyers.
Trailing 8-7, Wisconsin-Parkside pushed across three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to rally for the win.
Bittenbender hit a one-out single to begin the rally and Makita followed with a single to center that pushed Bittenbender to third base. Following a pitching change,
Jake Kolasinski tied the game at 8-8 with a single to left that plated Bittenbender.
Widmar drew a walk to load the bases and
Nick Janssen hit a two-run single to center that scored Makita and Kolasinski putting the Rangers in front to stay at 10-8.
Keaton Kastberg worked a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his four save of the year and make a winner of
Cody Rolshoven who worked a perfect 1.1 in relief.
The Rangers used a five-run second inning, which included a two-run homer by Hammudeh, to race out to an early 6-1 lead.
Lewis, which dropped to 4-15 overall and 0-2 in conference, scored a run in the third, two runs in the fifth, a run in the sixth and three runs in the seventh inning to regain the lead at 8-6.
Kolasinski drove in three runs to pace the Ranger offense, while Makita, Janssen and Hammudeh each had two RBI.
The two teams will conclude their four-game series on Saturday (March 25) with a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. at Brennan Field.
