La Crosse, Wis. - The Viterbo University Baseball team is now tied for first place in the Midwest Collegiate Conference as they defeated William Penn University in both games of Saturday's double header. The V-Hawks are tied with Grand View University atop the conference as each team holds a 14-6 record.

The V-Hawks went in to extra innings for the third consecutive game in the first contest as Viterbo snuck out a 7-6 victory. Viterbo scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as Andy Behnke (Jr. - Marshall, Minn.) singled home Brett Moravec (Jr. - Boulder City, Nev.) who led off the inning with a double.

The V-Hawks were fortunate to force extra innings as they scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Justin Daniels (Jr. - Holmen, Wis.) hit an RBI single scoring Brett Rettenmeier (Jr. - Cedar Rapids, Iowa) before Behnke was thrown out at home which would have given the V-Hawks a one-run lead.

Moravec earned the win for the V-Hawks as he allowed no hits or runs in the Statesmen half of the eighth inning. Shawn Loch (Sr. - Suamico, Wis.) contributed three hits for Viterbo while Moravec, Behnke, and Daniels each added two.

The V-Hawks came away with a 10-5 victory in game two of the double-header thanks in large part to a six run sixth inning.

Viterbo trailed 5-4 heading in to the sixth inning before Moravec started the inning off with a double. The inning started to look less promising after Moravec's hit though as Jorge Quezada was able to retire the next two V-Hawk batters. After a Kyle Dreger (Sr. - Manitowoc, Wis.) walk, John Pogatchnik (Sr. - Holdingford, Minn.) hit an RBI single which tied the game at 5-5.

Loch would break the tie as his RBI single plated pinch runner Joey Bergles (Jr. - Geneseo, Ill.) giving the V-Hawks a one run lead. The V-Hawks would tack on three more runs as Eli Tupuola (Sr. - San Diego, Calif.) hit an RBI single and Brandon Buelow (Jr. - Milwaukee, Wis.) hit a two-run home run.

The V-Hawks were able to hang on with their five-run lead despite William Penn loading the bases in the final inning. Nick Lenzendorf (Sr. - Eastman, Wis.) earned the win on the mound as he allowed one earned run on four hits in his 4.2 innings of relief work.

Buelow led the V-Hawks offensively in game two as he went 4-for-4 at the plate with four RBI while coming up just a triple short of hitting for the cycle.

The V-Hawks will look for the series sweep tomorrow as the two teams face off in a very important game three. Viterbo will look to keep pace with Grand View while the Statesmen sit just a half-game back of the conference leaders.