Schaumburg, Ill. – The Dominican University Baseball team honored 11 seniors on Friday night in their final series of the 2025 season.


Game 1 Results:
Dominican: 13
Illinois Tech: 6

How it Happened:
-Both clubs were held scoreless for the first two innings, and then the Stars struck first in the bottom of the third inning with Junior Zach Helein grounding out to the shortstop with Senior CJ Kalekas coming around to score.
-In the fourth, Kalekas hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Senior Quinton Schwartz from second.
-The Scarlett Hawks got on the board in the fifth, scoring a run on a hit.
 -Illinois Tech took the lead in the 6^th inning, scoring 2 runs on 3 hits.
-The Stars exploded in their half of the sixth inning, scoring 5 runs on 5 hits.
-The bats got going with Senior Ryan Schmidt singled and advanced to second on an error that scored Senior Braiden Galvin and Schwartz. Sophomore Ty Phillips followed with an RBI double to centerfield, scoring Schmidt. Helein, batting at the two, brought home the fourth run of the inning with a ground out to third base, scoring Kalekas. The final run of the inning came off the bat of Junior Matthew Earley on an RBI triple to left field scoring Phillips.
-Illinois Tech found an answer with a three-run top of the 7^th on four hits. This made the score 7-6.
-Dominican responded back for their second straight inning, scoring 5 runs, this time on three hits.
-Phillips got this party started with an RBI single to center field that scored Schwartz. Kalekas and Phillips would both score on a wild pitch for the second and third runs of the inning. Helein continued to bring the energy to the Stars dugout with an RBI triple scoring Graduate Student Grayson Downing. Earley once again scored the final run of the inning on an RBI double to center field.
-DU scored in three straight innings with Schmidt hitting an RBI single to center field, scoring Senior AJ Davies for the final run of the game.
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Shining Stars:
-Senior CJ Kalekas went out with a bang offensively for the Stars on his senior night, going 3-4 with an RBI, a walk, and 3 runs scored.
-Sophomore Ty Phillips has continued to produce for DU, going 3-5 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored.
-Junior Matthew Earley brought the boom for Dominican, going 2-5 with 2 RBIs, a triple, and a double.
-Junior Zach Helein brought home 3 RBIs for the Stars, going 1-5 with a run scored.
-Senior Ryan Schmidt went 2-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
-Senior Rocco Chiarito started on the bump for Dominican and went 6 innings while picking up 4 strikeouts in his work.
-Graduate Student Chris Kendziora made his final appearance in a DU uniform, going 3 innings and picking up 2 strikeouts.

Leading the Way:
Hits: Kalekas, and Phillips (3) 
RBI: Helein (3)
2B: Phillips, Earley, and G. Downing (2)
3B: Helein and Earley (1)
SB: G. Downing (1)
IP: Chiarito (6.0)
Ks: Chiarito (4)

Game 2 Results (F/7):
Dominican: 7
Illinois Tech: 6

How it Happened:
-Before game two even started Dominican and Illinois Tech faced an hour rain delay.
-Illinois Tech got on the scoreboard first in the top of the second inning, scoring 2 runs on 2 hits.
-The Stars responded instantly with Senior Michael Chirstopher reaching on an error by the second basemen that scored Senior Gavin Zappe. Graduate Student Grayson Downing followed with an RBI single to shortstop scoring Christopher. Junior Matthew Earley scored G. Downing on an RBI single to left field. This making the score 3-2 going into the third in favor of Dominican.
-Scarlett Hawks tied the game up in the fourth, scoring a run on a hit.
-Illinois Tech found the lead in the fifth, scoring 2 runs on 0 hits and taking advantage of 2 errors.
-DU tied the ball game up at five with Christopher hitting an RBI single to left field scoring senior Braiden Galvin, Senior AJ Davies was the next batter and he singled to right field scoring Zappe.
The Hawks regained the lead in the seventh, scoring a run on a hit in the top of the seventh.
-Dominican went to the bottom of the 8^th inning in a 6-5 hole, but no deficit was too big for the Stars on senior night.
-Freshman Marco Stawski brought the tying run home by reaching on an error by the second baseman, which scored Junior Zach Helein. Zappe came up to the plate with a chance to give the Stars the lead, and he did just that, hitting an RBI single through the left side that scored Earley. This would be the winning run for DU and a moment the senior catcher will not forget, bringing home the winning run on his senior night.
-Illinois Tech got a two-out single in the 9^th before Freshman Ethan Buckner shut the door.

Shining Stars:
-Senior Gavin Zappe had the game-winning hit and went 2-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.
-Junior Matthew Earley capped off his first year in a DU uniform, going 2-4 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.
-Senior Michael Christopher had a fantastic final game, going 2-4 with a run scored, 2 RBIs, and a hit by a pitch.
-Senior CJ Kalekas started on the bump for the Stars in his final outing of his collegiate career, and the Senior went 5 innings and collected 4 strikeouts.
-Senior Ethan Shepherd made his final appearance in a Dominican uniform, going 2 innings with 2 strikeouts.  

Leading the Way:
Hits: Zappe, Earley, and Christopher (2)
RBI: Christopher (2)
SB: G. Downing (2)
HBP: Helein, Galvin, and Christopher (1)
IP: Kalekas (5.0)
Ks: Kalekas, and Buckner (4)

What's Next:
Dominican University Baseball finished their 2025 season going 18-22 overall on the season and finished 9-15 in the conference. The Stars were 9-6 at Wintrust Field this season and played some of their best baseball on their home dirt. Dominican baseball will be back for the 2026 season.

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