Lakers vs. WMU
Lakers' first two games in Florida go to the wire
CLERMONT, Fla. - Lake Superior State's first two games of its spring break trip to Florida were decided in the final inning Friday. The Lakers beat Concordia 11-10 and lost to Capital 6-2 in nine innings at the Dot Richardson Training Center.
LSSU (1-1) plays Winona State at 11:30 a.m. and Millersville at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Clermont before heading to Kissimmee.
Samantha Klinkner had an RBI double and Amber Kern followed with an RBI single to give the Lakers an 11-8 lead over Concordia in the top of the seventh inning. Nichole Dunford started the rally with a single and scored what proved to be the game-tying run.
Concordia came back with two runs on two hits and an error in the bottom of the seventh, but LSSU pitch Nikki Christensen worked out of the jam and held on for the win. She allowed only two earned runs on 10 hits, four strikeouts and one walk.
Klinkner was 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs. Kern was 4-for-5 with a two-run home run in the third inning, a double and five RBIs. Lorrie Chaperon and Nicole Carstensen added two hits each, and Lacey Knoop and Helena Zandarski had one each.
LSSU freshman pitcher Jillian Willette went the distance in her collegiate debut, which was a 1-1 game until the ninth inning. She allowed five earned runs on five strikeouts and two walks. LSSU and Capital played the final two innings under international tie-breaker rules.
Zandarski was 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Kern and Christensen had doubles for LSSU. Knoop, Rachel Hall, Dunford and Chaperon added singles.
