Information courtesy of MLC Athletics

Men’s baseball

MLC 5, Northland 4

NEW ULM — The Martin Luther College baseball team would not be denied its first win of the season with a two-out rally in the eighth inning to defeat Northland 5-4 on Saturday.

The Knights started strong as Andrew Deisinger and Spencer Lilienthal each drove in a run with base hits in the top of the first inning to give MLC a 2-0 lead.

Northland scored once in both the third and fourth frames off MLC starting pitcher Sam Rodriguez to tie the game, but the Knights once again took the lead thanks to a two-run double by Jonas Lindemann in the fifth that scored Caleb Heckendorf and Jordan Ramirez.

The Knights held onto that 4-2 lead until the eighth inning, when the Lumberjacks took advantage of a couple defensive misplays to score twice off Lindemann in relief to tie the game 4-4.

Hungry for the Knights’ first win of the season, Lilienthal started a rally with a two-out double in the bottom half of the eighth, and Heckendorf drove him home with a single up the middle, giving the Knights the lead once again.

The Knights finished the game with a season-high 15 hits, led by three apiece from Mason Cox, Lilienthal and Heckendorf.

Rodriguez pitched well on the mound, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits in six innings. Lindemann (1-1) earned his first career win in relief, allowing two runs on four hits in two innings.

The Knights improved to 1-11 on the season and 1-1 in UMAC play with the win. Northland dropped to 0-9 overall and 0-1 in league play in defeat.

Men’s track and field

MLC men set

school records

MANKATO — The Martin Luther College men’s track and field team broke three school records at Minnesota State-Mankato on Saturday.

Competing against mostly NCAA Division II athletes, top-place finishes were hard to come by, but several MLC athletes still scored points against the difficult competition.

Caleb Foelske continued his strong spring in the throwing events, breaking his own MLC records in the Discus (45.46 meters) and Hammer (39.87 meters). Overall, Foelske took home fourth in the Javelin, fifth in the Discus, 13th in the Shot Put, and 17th in the Hammer events.

On the track, Caleb Lash recorded the third MLC record at the event, finishing the 10,000 Meters in a time of 34:53.36 to take fifth place.

Carson Oestreich had a strong day in the sprints, reaching the finals of the 100 Meters before finishing sixth with a time of 11.16. He also took eighth in the 200 Meters with a time of 23.24, while Jon Holtz took 18th in that event.

Eric Raasch finished 14th in the 400 Meters (followed by Nathan Pausma in 16th place), and also took 12th in the Long Jump.

Gustav Wenz finished 10th in the Javelin with a throw of 40.55 meters. Caleb Little and Benjamin Hillmer each jumped 1.71 meters in the High Jump, while Joseph Ehlke finished eighth in the Triple Jump.

Women’s track and field

MLC women see tough competition at MSU

MANKATO — The Martin Luther College women’s track team competed against its toughest competition yet in a meet hosted by Minnesota State-Mankato on Saturday.

Nearly all the teams at the event were from NCAA Division II, making it difficult to finish high in a number of events.

Erika Gosch was the top MLC finisher at the event, taking fifth place in the Javelin with a top throw of 34.88 meters. Madelyn Plitzuweit was among several others competing in the Javelin and finished 17th.

On the track, Maya Habben set a new MLC record in the 10,000 Meters with a time of 43:13.27, good for 10th place in the event. Claire Tomhave finished 22nd in a deep 800 Meters field, while MacKenzie Lynch and Maia Pankow battled in the sprinting events.

Emily Dobberstein finished 12th of 19 runners in the 100 Meter Hurdles, while Emma Nelson took 14th in the 400 Meter Hurdles.

Isabelle Kettler was the top MLC finisher in both the Discus (17th) and Hammer (23rd) events. Nelson took 20th in the Shot Put.

Men’s tennis

Wartburg 8, MLC 1

NEW ULM — The Martin Luther College men’s tennis team lost its non-conference match to Wartburg by the final of 8-1 on Saturday.

Wartburg opened strong, defeating the Knights in all three doubles matches by the scores of 8-4, 8-6 and 8-2.

In singles, Josiah Wordell scored the lone MLC point with a three-set win (4-6, 6-3, 1-0) in come from behind fashion in the number four position. Number-one singles player Jonah Schulz (6-2, 4-6, 1-0) also took his match to three sets, but lost his tiebreaker 11-9.

The Knights fell to 0-6 on the season in defeat.

Women’s tennis

Wartburg 8, MLC 1

NEW ULM — The Martin Luther College women’s tennis team lost 8-1 to Wartburg College in a non-conference match on Saturday.

Wartburg built an early 3-0 lead thanks to a doubles sweep, topping the Knights 8-4, 8-4 and 8-6.

MLC scored its lone point thanks to Sarah Hoffe in number-five singles as the she won in three sets 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (11-9).

The Knights dropped to 0-7 on the season in defeat.