Bill Calvert

Stars Steal Game Two in Ninth to Split with Warriors

3/28/2021 10:03:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Milwaukee, WI – The Dominican University baseball team split a pair of games on Sunday afternoon to Wisconsin Lutheran, dropping game one 5-4 before stealing game two with a six-run ninth inning 7-2.

Dominican got on the board in the top of the first inning as a Tyler Trojan hit by pitch followed by Grayson Downing reaching safely via an error put runners on the corners. After a wild pitch advanced Downing to second, Brandon Diedrich brought Trojan home with a single to right field. Two batters later, Keegan Brandt plated Downing with a sacrifice fly to left field as the Stars led 2-0 after the opening frame.

Wisconsin Lutheran started the bottom of the third inning with three straight hits as it scored twice in the frame to knot the score at 2-2 heading to fourth.

The Stars responded in that inning as a two-out error by the Warriors plated Camron Stafford and Brandt to extend the margin back to two, 4-2, heading to the bottom of the frame. The Warriors lead off the inning with back-to-back singles that were brought home with a one-out infield single to tie the score back up at 4-4. A two-out single down the left-field line gave Wisconsin Lutheran a 5-4 advantage after four innings of play.

Dominican had a couple of chances to tie the game as Downing reached third with one out in the fifth but was left stranded after a pair of strikeouts. The Stars also had runners on second base in the sixth and ninth innings but were unable to get the timely hit to bring them around to score.

Bryant Bagshaw went the distance for Dominican, throwing eight innings while allowing 11 hits and five earned runs to go along with eight strikeouts.

The Stars mustered seven hits in the game with Diedrich and Brandt recording two hits and an RBI each.

Game two was quiet until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Warriors scored twice to take a 2-0 lead.

In the top of the sixth, the Stars would cut the deficit in half as a leadoff single by Zach Rigdon followed by a one-out double from Alberto Garcia scored Rigdon to make it a 2-1 ballgame heading to the ninth.

After Downing was hit by a pitch to start the frame, Diedrich walked and a Wano sacrifice bunt moved them to second and third with one out. Brandt followed with a hit by pitch to load the bases before a Rigdon fielder's choice knotted the game at 2-2. Galdi followed with a bases-loaded RBI walk to give the Stars the 3-2 lead as they scored six times in the inning to steal a 7-2 win from the Warriors.

"We were given a gift in the ninth inning of the second game to turn the day from terrible to just bad," said Head Coach Steve Hardman. "We were just not getting the job done in most parts of our game."

Jeremey Davidson started on the bump for Dominican and pitched seven innings, scattering six hits and allowing zero earned runs in a no-decision. Bennett Wogan picked up his second win of the season as he came in with one out in the eighth before closing out the ninth.

"We did get two quality starts today from Bagshaw and Davidson but that really was the only bright spot of the day," continued Coach Hardman. "We need to continue striving to play a complete game in all areas."

The Stars will have that chance on Wednesday, March 31st when they welcome Lakeland to Wintrust Field for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader.

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