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Oles Grab Two More Wins

Lars Finanger/Matt Karnas
April 18, 2001

Warm weather welcomed the Oles for their home opener against the Bethel College Royals. The Oles received solid contributions from both offensive and defensive sides and were able to complete the two game sweep. With the victories, the Oles remained undefeated since their return to Minnesota and are in sole possession of first place in the MIAC standings.

Despite the Royals scoring five runs in the sixth inning and two more in the seventh, the Oles were able to hold onto the 9-7 win in the opener.

The Oles scored four runs in the fourth when Steve Ryan (Jr., South St. Paul, Minn.) tripled with one out. First baseman Nick Beissel (Sr., Lakeville, Minn.) drew a walk, leaving the Oles with runners on the corners. A ground ball off Joe Hammond's (Jr., Neillsville,Wis.) bat scored Ryan from third and an errant throw from the shortstop moved Beissel to third. Following the second out, Casey Coulson (Sr., Rosemont, Minn.) roped an RBI single to score Beissel. The Royals opted to intentionally walk Brian Sprout (Jr., Lake City, Minn.) to load the bases, but Dan LaManna (Jr., South St. Paul, Minn.) lined a single to center allowing Hammond and Coulson to score.

After Beissel's fourth home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth extended the lead to 6-0, the Oles tacked on three more in the bottom of the sixth to solidify the victory. LaManna's one out single set the stage for Kevin Quame's (Jr., Benson, Minn.) first homer of the year and two batters later, Ryan went deep over the right-center field fence.

Leading the offensive attack for the Oles were Coulson and LaManna, who each tallied three hits. Going deep and providing the extra punch needed in the win were Beissel, Quame and Ryan. Charlie Ruud (FY, Cannon Falls, Minn.) led the way on the defensive side through five innings, as he struck out eleven Royal sticks. Reid Rose (Jr., Orono, Minn.) came on in relief and held off a late Bethel rally.

In the second game of the doubleheader, the Oles jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. After scoring three times in the first inning, the offense tattooed the Royal pitching with seven runs in the second. After leading off the inning with a walk, Jon Nymo (Jr., Rice Lake, Wis.) showed great hustle down to second base when he beat the throw from the shortstop off a Ryan grounder. Again, Bethel decided to intentionally walk Sprout and load the bases, and LaManna made them pay by stroking a double to left field which scored two runs. Quame followed suit and traded places with LaManna after roping a two RBI double of his own. After a Beissel single, Lars Finanger (Jr., Decorah, Iowa) advanced Beissel to third and drove in a run on a double to right. The scoring ended when Cornell walked to load the bases, Nymo was hit by a pitch allowing a run to score, and Ryan singled to add one more.

Once again, LaManna led the way for the Ole offense with his three hits. Ryan, Sprout, Quame, and Beissel each added two of their own to the attack. Holding the Royal offense to two runs through his seven innings of work was starting pitcher Erik Goodmanson (Jr., Albert Lea, Minn.).

With the two victories, the Oles move to 13-5 overall and 6-0 in conference play. Their next doubleheader is scheduled against Gustavus on Wednesday, April 18th at 1:00 in St. Peter.

Contact Pat Buresh at 507-786-3315 or buresh@stolaf.edu.