The Norse continued their up -and-down season with a series loss to Coe College, splitting the final games of the three-game series. The Norse dropped the first game 6-5, won the second 7-4 and lost the finale 8-2.

The Norse produced 12 hits in game one that included a six-hit, six-run second inning. Coe did all of its damage in the sixth, scoring four runs on five hits.

Alex Ross (‘08) was 3-4, while Jake Waddle (‘09) and Alex Thomas (‘09) were both 2-4. Jeff Riddle (‘10), who was 1-5, drove in two runs.

Adam Kohls (‘09) went the distance on the mound. Kohls gave up four runs on nine hits and struck out four without allowing a walk.

In the night game, Coe scored eight runs on nine hits, with five in the fourth and three in the fifth. Max Flaig (‘10) started the game and held the Kohawks scoreless through three innings but unraveled in the fourth, when Coe took advantage of a fielding error, breaking the game open with five runs.

Darin Schneider (‘10) added fuel to the fire in the fifth inning, giving up two walks, two hits and three earned runs before being pulled for Joe Nelson (‘08), who promptly shut down the Kohawks with six strikeouts in two innings.

Over spring break, the Norse went 7-6 with wins over Macalester College (Minn.), Northwestern College (Minn.), Carleton College (Minn.) and Simpson College but lost three straight to Wartburg College.

Luther currently sits at 3-5 in the conference and 8-8 overall.

Men’s tennis defeats Coe, wins 20th match of season

After a 4-1 finish at the spring break tournament in Orlando, Fla., the Norse returned and promptly defeated conference rival Coe College 5-4 to secure their hold on first place in the Iowa Conference.

The Norse swept the doubles competition and picked up wins at No. 3 singles by Harry Whiteley (‘11) and at No. 5 singles by Tim Eisele (‘08), securing the regular season victory.

At #1 doubles, Max Busch (‘10) and Jono Martin (‘08) won 8-4. Whiteley and Eisele posted an 8-6 victory at No. 2, and Brad Nelson (‘08) and Utsab Rijal (‘10) posted an 8-4 victory at No. 3.

The Norse then suffered a loss to Wheaton College (Ill.) in split-squad competition while simultaneously defeating Winona State University (Minn.) and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

The Norse posted their 20th win of the season, following an 8-1 victory over Winona State with a 5-3 win over UW-La Crosse.

In the Winona match, Rijal, Sam Burman (‘11), Jared Wiklund (‘08), Mark Mateski (‘10) and Scott Martin (‘10) all tallied straight-set victories in singles play, following a sweep of the doubles matches.

The La Crosse match saw Luther post three wins in singles and two in doubles.

Luther is currently undefeated in the conference at 6-0 and sits at 20-8 overall.

Softball sweeps UW-La Crosse

After dropping two extra-inning road games to Simpson College, the Norse rebounded to sweep the two-game series over the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, winning the first game 5-2 and the second 3-2 in eight innings.

In game one, Jackie Miller (‘09) was 2-4 at the plate and drove in two runs, helping maintain rallies in the second and seventh innings.

Shallyn Duffy (‘08) and Kim Lambert (‘10) pitched well, allowing the Eagles to score only twice on seven hits. Duffy did not allow a walk and struck out one in three innings of work, while Lambert fanned four and walked two in the final four frames.

In game two, Tami Magner (‘08) scored the game winner in the top of the eighth, when Ashley Hoffman’s (‘08) single to left field was misplayed, allowing Magner to score from second base. Hoffman was 3-3 at the plate and also drew a walk.

BreAnn VanDeer (‘09) was dominant in the circle, walking one, striking out nine and spreading eight hits over eight innings. VanDeer improved to 5-2 on the season with the win.

The wins come on the heels of impressive performances at the Tucson Invitational in Arizona, which saw the Norse go 8-2 against national competition.

The Norse next face Buena Vista University at home April 12.

Luther currently sits at 3-3 in the conference and 17-7 overall.

Women’s tennis continues success

The Norse returned from a 4-1 finish at a spring break tournament in Orlando, Fla. to defeat Winona State University (Minn.), a Division II school, 5-4.

Justine Allen (‘08), Sara Dale (‘11), Kate Patterson (‘11) and Laura Williams (‘11) secured singles victories while Dale and Patterson won their doubles match.

In Orlando, the Norse defeated Lindenwood University (Mo.), Otterbein College (Ohio), West Virginia State University and Merrimack College (Mass.) before dropping the conference finale to Vanguard University (Cal.).

In singles play for the tournament, Allen was 4-0. Fran Fairfield (‘11) was 4-1. Kelsie Allen (‘10), Brynne Zinnecker (‘11) and Amy Christenson (‘08) were 3-1. Alana Humpal (‘11) was 1-3 and Molly Beyer (‘08) was 0-4. Doubles squads finished 11-4 for the tournament.

The Norse next travel to Wartburg College April 10. They currently sit at 20-4 for the season.

Information compiled in part from Luther College Sports Info.