APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University baseball team downed St. Norbert College 12-8 in the opener of a Midwest Conference doubleheader Saturday at Whiting Field, and the Green Knights held on for a 7-6 win in the nightcap.
Lawrence (8-13, 4-6 MWC) rallied from an 8-3 deficit in the first game, as Tim Salm went 4-for-6 with two homers and six runs batted in.
After St. Norbert (18-7, 8-2) put up three runs in the top of the fifth to go up 8-3, the Vikings rallied in the bottom half of the inning.
After a Wes Otte double and a walk by Doug McEneaney, Salm blasted a three-run homer to cut the lead to 8-6. Tommy Schmidt and Hawk Haiduke followed with singles, and Adam Fritsch then doubled off reliever Eric Gruenewald to tie the game at 8-8. Fritsch finished the first game 2-for-5 with three RBIs.
The Vikings then took the lead in the sixth. McEneaney led off with a double and Salm belted a two-run homer two batters later to give Lawrence a 10-8 edge. Schmidt then walked and he scored after the Green Knights made two errors in the inning. Lawrence finished the scoring with a run in the seventh.
Luke Kostreva evened his record at 2-2 on the season with four innings of two-hit relief.
Lawrence took a 3-2 lead in the first inning of the nightcap after Ben Webster's three-run homer in the bottom of the first. That proved to be it for the Lawrence offense until the bottom of the ninth.
St. Norbert had taken a 7-3 lead when they scored three times in the top of the ninth, highlighted by Jared Yost's two-run homer.
The Vikings had the bases loaded with one out in the ninth when Brett Yost uncorked a wild pitch to bring home a run. Brett Yost then walked McEneaney. Jordan Vater came on to pitch for the Green Knights, and he got T.J. Frett to hit into a fielder's choice that scored another run. Another wild pitch allowed Otte to score and cut the lead to 7-6. Salm followed with a single but Frett was thrown out at the plate on a close play to end the game.
Webster and Robert Rashid both had two hits for the Vikings in the nightcap.
Lawrence is scheduled to play another doubleheader with the Green Knights Sunday at Mel Nicks Field.