Rock Island, Ill. – Dominican University Baseball travels to Rock Island for the Augustana Invitational on Saturday and Sunday.

DU in Review:

-The 2025 season marks the 14th season with Head Coach Steve Hardman at the helm. The Stars finished with a 15-25 record overall and were 7-17 in the NACC. 

-DU heads into 2025 looking to make the conference tournament for the first time since 2019. 

-As a team, the Stars hit with a .270 batting average and a 5.19 ERA.

-The Stars finished the 2025 RussMatt Baseball Invitational with a 5-3 record, achieving wins over Pittsburgh at Greensburg, Saint Vincent, Northland, Mount St. Jospeh, and Albion.

-Dominican begins NACC play against St. Norbert at Wintrust Field on Sunday, March 23rd.

Last Time Out:
-The Stars defeated Albion in their final game of the RussMatt, 7-3.
-Graduate Student Grayson Downing went 2-4 with an RBI and a walk.
-Junior Matthew Earley was 2-5 with 3 RBIs. 
-Senior CJ Kalekas was awarded the win with Freshman Koufax Cranmer picking up his 2nd save on the season.

Star Gazing:
-Graduate Student Grayson Downing leads DU with 20 hits on the season while adding 7 RBIs.
 -Junior Matthew Earley is 2nd on Dominican with 11 hits but leads the team with 11 RBIs.
 -Senior CJ Kalekas is 2-0 on the season with an ERA of 3.00.

Familiar Faces:
   -Dominican returns Graduate Student Grayson Downing after only playing 17 games in his senior year, G. Downing is a lockdown centerfielder that has a career batting average of .363 in his 127 games in a Stars uniform. G. Downing only has 4 errors in his collegiate career with a .990 fielding percentage. 

-Senior CJ Kalekas is one of the right fielders and pitcher on the DU roster and returns with a .284 career batting average and a 7.63 career ERA. Kalekas threw 21.2 innings on the mound last season. On the offensive side, Kalekas collected 29 hits and 15 RBI’s.

-Junior Zach Helein is a two-year left fielder for the Stars and has produced a lot in his time in a DU uniform. Helein holds a .300 career batting average with 36 total hits and 18 total RBI’s. Helein does not make mistakes in the outfield with just 3 errors and holds a .966 fielding percentage in left field.  

-Senior Matthew Hannafin is returning from injury during his junior year and the Stars are excited to get the 6-2 righty back on the mound. Hannafin holds a 6.05 career ERA with 34 strikeouts through two full seasons of pitching. 

-Sophomore Langdon Downing is looking to make a big jump headed to his sophomore year. L. Downing is a 5-11 right-handed pitcher who threw 17.1 innings as a freshman. L.Downing collected 19 strikeouts in his freshman year. 

 

GAME 1

Series History vs. Illinois College:
Dominican and Illinois College first played on 3/8/2010 in Fort Myers, Fla (W, 13-8) 
All-Time Record / Streak: 4-5 / Dominican W1
Last Meeting (3/11/2017): Dominican 10, Illinois College 4

Scouting Report vs. Illinois College:

-Illinois College is 8-4 on the 2025 season. 

-IC finished the RussMatt with a 5-2 record.

-Illinois College enters the Augustana Invite on a two-game win streak after sweeping Eureka College on Tuesday, March 11th. 

GAME 2

Series History vs. Buena Vista:
Dominican and Buena Vista first played on 3/16/24 in Rock Island, Ill (L, 10-11) 
All-Time Record / Streak: 0-2 / Dominican L2
Last Meeting (3/17/2024): Dominican 1, Buena Vista, 11

Scouting Report vs. Buena Vista:

-Buena Vista is 7-3 on the 2025 season. 

-BVU compiled a 5-2 record at the RussMatt.

GAME 3 

Series History vs. Augustana:
Dominican and Augustana first played on 3/19/23 in Augustana, Ill (L, 2-16) 
All-Time Record / Streak: 0-2 / Dominican L2
Last Meeting (3/17/2024): Dominican 3, Augustana 13

Scouting Report vs. Augustana:

-Augustana is 4-4 on the 2025 season. 

-The Vikings are coming off a 16-1 loss to DI opponent University of Iowa on Tuesday, March 11th.