Schaumburg, Ill. – Dominican University Baseball hosted Wisconsin Lutheran for Senior Day and Alumni Day in a pivotal doubleheader at Wintrust Field on Saturday.
Game 1 Results:
Dominican: 7
Wisconsin Lutheran: 5
How it Happened:
-Wisconsin Lutheran opened the scoring at the top of the first and took a 1-0 lead.
-Dominican took until the bottom of the third inning to answer, which began with a leadoff single by Freshman
Austin Long. Senior
Zach Helein the reached base on an error and stole second. The bases were then loaded after Senior
Ricky Powell drew a walk. Long proceeded to reach home on a single to left by Senior
Matthew Earley, followed by a two-RBI single by Sophomore
Christian Pogorzelski. A sacrifice fly by Senior
Tyler Johnson scored Earley, as the Stars took a 4-1 lead into the top of the fourth.
-Sophomore
Alex Voegele backed up DU's offense with tidy work on the mound at the top of the fourth.
-Following smart base running, the Warriors knotted the game up at 4-4 at the top of the fifth.
-At the bottom of the sixth, Sophomore
Cooper Marquez had a leadoff walk, followed by a double by Freshman
Eric Sanchez. Long then drove in both Marquez and Sanchez with a single to right, regaining the lead for Dominican at 6-4.
-Sophomore
Koufax Cranmer pitched a 1-2-3 inning in relief for the Stars at the top of the seventh, which included a strikeout.
-WLC clawed back a run at the top of the eighth, as the Stars' lead shrank to 6-5.
-Long continued his stellar performance with a leadoff double at the bottom of the eighth, then advanced to third on a passed ball. Helein launched a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Long and adding to the DU lead, which was now 7-5.
-At the top of the ninth, Senior
Aaron O'Grady was entrusted with closing out the Warriors and did just that, preserving the 7-5 Dominican victory.
Shining Stars:
-Freshman
Austin Long earned Star of the Game with a 4-5 day, 2 RBIs, a double, and 2 runs scored.
-Senior
Ricky Powell was 2-4 with a walk.
-Senior
Matthew Earley finished 205 with an RBI, a double, and a run scored.
-Senior
Zach Helein went 1-3 with an RBI, a walk, and a run scored.
-Senior
Aaron O'Grady picked up the save for the Stars, pitching one inning and allowed just one hit.
Leading the Way:
Hits: Long (4)
RBI: Long and Pogorzelski (2)
Runs: Long (2)
2B: Long, Earley, Garica, and Sanchez (1)
SF: Helein and Johnson (1)
SB: Helein (1)
IP: Voegele (4.1)
Ks: Voegele (2)
Game 2 Results:
Dominican: 1
Wisconsin Lutheran: 5
How it Happened:
-Both squads were held scoreless through the first three innings, as Graduate Student
Matthew Hannafin began the game with a solid start on the mound for the Stars.
-WLC struck first at the top of the fourth and took a 2-0 lead.
-Dominican struggled to find answers at the plate between the fourth and seventh innings.
-With the Stars still trailing 2-0 at the bottom of the eighth, a leadoff walk by Junior
Alex Garcia gave DU some life. Junior
Connor Kalinowski then pinch ran for Garcia and advanced to scoring position on second via a sacrifice bunt by Senior
Tyler Johnson. Sophomore
Christian Pogorzelski then hit an infield single, but the Stars offense was stymied with the runners stranded on first and second.
-At the top of the ninth, the Warriors extended their lead to 5-0.
-Dominican had its back against the wall at the bottom of the ninth and would not go down without a fight. Senior
Zach Helein and Senior
Ricky Powell both reached base on a walk. Senior
Matthew Earley then singled to left, loading the bases with one out. Freshman
Ryan McGrew entered the game in a pinch-hit situation and earned an RBI with a groundout to first base. The Stars' comeback effort stopped there, however, as they dropped Game 2 by a final score of 5-1.
Shining Stars:
-Senior
Zach Helein was 2-3 with a run scored and 2 walks.
-Sophomore
Christian Pogorzelski finished 2-2 with 2 walks.
-Junior
Alex Garcia was 1-2 with 2 walks.
-Graduate Student
Matthew Hannafin got the start and went 6.1 innings and allowed just 2 runs while picking up 5 strikeouts.
Leading the Way:
Hits: Helein and Pogorzelski (2)
RBI: McGrew (1)
2B: Garica and Sanchez (1)
SB: Helein (3)
IP: Hannafin (6.1)
Ks: Hannafin (5)
What's Next:
Dominican University Baseball moves to 13-18 (5-11 NACC) on the season. The Stars will take on Aurora for their final home series of the season on Wednesday, April 22
nd. First pitch of Game 1 is slated for 1:00 p.m.
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