Lisle, Ill. – Dominican University Baseball is back on the road for a mid-week test against Benedictine on Thursday.
 
Series History vs. Benedictine:
Dominican and Benedictine first played on 3/30/2008 in Lisle, Ill. (L, 4-2).
All-Time Record / Streak: 10-26 / Dominican L1
Last Meeting (4/10/2024): Dominican 5, Benedictine 7 (F/9)
 
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 during the 2024 campaign. 
-DU heads into 2025 looking to make the conference tournament for the first time since 2019. 
-As a team, the Stars hit with a .269 batting average and a 6.77 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 is currently 11-12 on the 2025 season and is 4-6 in NACC play.
 
Last Time Out:
-Dominican fell short in both games of their doubleheader against Marian on Saturday (13-7, 3-1).
Game 1
-Junior Zach Helein was 2-2 at the plate with 3 RBIs, 2 walks, and a triple.
-Sophomore Ty Phillips finished 1-3 with 2 walks and a run scored.
-Junior Matthew Earley went 1-5 with an RBI double.
Game 2
-Freshman Ethan Buckner had a solid outing in Game 2, throwing 6.0 innings with 5 strikeouts and only 3 earned runs.
-Junior Matthew Earley was 1-3 with an RBI and a walk.
-Junior Zach Helein finished 1-4 with a run scored.
 
Star Gazing:
-Graduate Student Grayson Downing has 20 hits on the season while adding 7 RBIs.
 -Junior Matthew Earley is tied for first on Dominican with 25 hits and leads the team with 22 RBIs.
-Senior Braiden Galvin is starting to hit the ball well for Dominican, with 20 hits and a .333 batting average.
-Sophomore Ty Phillips has continued to be a huge factor for DU having a .431 batting average, with 25 hits and 10 RBIs.
-Junior Zach Helein is starting to find his swing again moving his average to .286 at the plate alongside 24 hits and 14 RBIs.
-Senior CJ Kalekas has continued to be a stellar two-way player. On the hill, Kalekas is 3-1 with a 3.90 ERA in his 27.2 innings pitched. Offensively the Senior has 12 hits.
 -Freshman Ethan Buckner has shined since putting on a Stars uniform leading the team with a 3.90 ERA and a 2-2 record on the mound.
-Freshman Koufax Cranmer has found his role as the team's closer with 3 saves, a 0.79 ERA, and a 2-0 record.
 
Familiar Faces:
   Dominican returns Graduate Student Grayson Downing after only playing 17 games in his senior year. G. Downing is a lockdown centerfielder who has a career batting average of .363 in his 127 games in a Stars uniform. He has only made 4 errors in his collegiate career and a .990 fielding percentage. 
-Senior CJ Kalekas is one of the right fielders and pitchers 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 RBIs.
-Junior Zach Helein is a two-year left fielder for the Stars and has produced much in his time in a DU uniform. Helein holds a .300 career batting average with 36 total hits and 18 total RBIs. 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. 



Scouting Report:
-Benedictine currently sits with an 11-12 overall record and is 3-5 in conference play.
-The Eagles suffered back-to-back defeats at the hands of MSOE on Saturday at home.
-BenU is hitting .251 as a team and has scored 130 total runs on the season.
-The Eagles have a 5.81 team ERA and have given up 217 total hits.
-Benedictine is fielding it at a .961 fielding percentage and has made 34 errors on the season.
 
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