Schaumburg, IL – The Dominican University baseball team hosted #5 Aurora University in a doubleheader matchup falling 9-2 and 16-3.
Game One:
Aurora started the scoring in the top of the second inning of game one to take an early 1-0 lead. The Stars responded in the bottom of the inning when Grayson Downing hit a single down the left-field line before advancing to second on an error by the Spartans. A sacrifice fly from the Stars gave Downing time to tag up to even the score at 1-1.
The Spartans responded in the top of the sixth inning to take a 2-1 lead before bringing six more runners around the bases in the top of the eighth inning to extend their lead to 8-1.
Matt Galdi doubled to right-center to start things for Dominican in the bottom of the eighth before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Downing stepped up next hitting a single that brought Galdi home making it 8-2.
In the top of the ninth inning, the Spartans were able to bring a runner across home plate to seal the 9-2 victory in game one.
Brandon Diedrich and Matt Galdi had things going offensively for the Stars as they combined for six hits in game one.
On the mound, Hayden Young had eight strikeouts in seven innings of work while allowing just two earned runs.
Game Two:
The Spartans scored a run in both the top of the first and second innings to give them an early 2-0 lead. A single by Downing before advancing to third put him in scoring position for Alberto Garcia, whose two-out single to center field cut the Spartans lead in half at 2-1.
In the top of the fourth inning, Aurora would add four more runs to its cushion and head to the bottom half up 6-1.
A leadoff single by Ryan Simak got things going for the Stars before Zach Rigdon hit a single to right field. Back-to-back singles by Keegan Brandt and Galdi brought Simak and Rigdon across home plate to cut the Spartans advantage to 6-3.
The Spartans erupted for an eight-spot in the top of the sixth inning, on six hits, to break open the ballgame 14-3. Aurora added two more runs in the top of the seventh inning to take the 16-3 win.
"In the first game, I thought we played well. We stayed right with them until late in the game before we had to go to the bullpen," said Head Coach Steve Hardman. "In game two we just fell apart and really embarrassed ourselves. I hope we can find some pride and compete better on Sunday."
The Stars return to action on Sunday, April 25th as they travel to Aurora University for a doubleheader matchup starting at noon.
