Schaumburg, Ill. – Dominican University Baseball closed out its NACC home schedule with a doubleheader series against Aurora on Wednesday afternoon.
Game 1 Results:
Dominican: 3
Aurora: 5
How it Happened:
-DU opened the scoring at the bottom of the first, beginning with a single and a stolen base by Senior
Matthew Earley. Junior
Alex Garcia then drove in Earley, which gave the Stars a 1-0 lead after the opening frame.
-Aurora answered back at the top of the second and knotted the game up at 1-1.
-Junior
Langdon Downing, who got the nod to start Game 1 on the mound for the Stars, recorded a 1-2-3 inning at the top of the third to keep the game tied.
-The Stars regained the lead, this time at 2-1, at the bottom of the third, which was lead by another single by Earley. Earley eventually reached third after a stolen base and a throwing error and was brought home by a single to left by Sophomore
Christian Pogorzelski.
-The Spartans evened the score at 2-2 at the top of the fifth.
-With the Stars unable to retake the lead, the Spartans gained a 4-2 advantage at the top of the sixth.
-Now fighting from behind, Dominican clawed back another run at the bottom of the sixth, as a double by Senior
Zach Helein scored Sophomore
Cooper Marquez, who reached base via an error, cutting the deficit to 4-3.
-Sophomore
Koufax Cranmer, who entered the game in relief of Downing, kept the Stars within striking distance; however, the Spartans regained its two-run advantage at the top of the eighth, now leading 5-3.
-Dominican could not rally late, falling in the opener by a final score of 5-3.
Shining Stars:
-Senior
Matthew Earley finished 2-2 with two runs scored, a walk, and a hit by pitch.
-Senior
Ricky Powell was 2-5 with a double.
-Senior
Zach Helein went 1-5 with a double and an RBI.
-Junior
Langdon Downing went 5.2 innings and picked up 6 strikeouts.
-Sophomore
Koufax Cranmer pitched 3.1 innings in relief for the Stars and allowed just one run.
Leading the Way:
Hits: Earley and Powell (2)
RBI: Helein, Garcia, and Pogorzelski (1)
Runs: Earley (2)
2B: Helein and Powell (1)
HBP: Earley and Johnson (1)
SB: Earley (2)
IP: Downing (5.2)
Ks: Downing (6)
Game 2 Results (F/7):
Dominican: 4
Aurora: 14
How it Happened:
-Aurora opened Game 2 with five runs at the top of the first.
-At the bottom of the second, DU battled back from a slow start, beginning with Senior
Ricky Powell being hit by a pitch, then a single by Senior
Tyler Johnson. Sophomore
Cooper Marquez then singled to right, which scored both Powell and Johnson and cut the Aurora lead to 5-2.
-Freshman
Logan Komperda bounced back on the mound with a 1-2-3 inning in the third.
-The Spartans extended their lead to 8-2 on three hits at the top of the third, then tacked on a ninth run at the top of the fifth.
-Freshman
Eric Sanchez hit a lead-off single at the bottom of the fifth, followed by singles by Freshman
Austin Long and Senior
Zach Helein. A ground out by Senior
Matthew Earley was enough to bring home Sanchez, cutting into the Aurora lead which was now at 9-3.
-AU pushed its lead to 14-3 by the middle of the seventh inning.
-Attempting to extend the game, the Stars would load the bases at the bottom of the seventh. Earley drew a walk, which batted in Sanchez, but the comeback effort would stop there, as DU fell by a final of 14-4.
Shining Stars:
-Freshman
Austin Long was 3-4.
-Senior
Tyler Johnson went 2-2 with a run scored.
-Senior
Matthew Earley posted a 1-3 day with 2 RBIs and a walk.
-Sophomore
Cooper Marquez was 1-2 with 2 RBIs.
Leading the Way:
Hits: Long (3)
RBI: Earley and Marquez (2)
HBP: Powell and Johnson (1)
IP: Komperda (3.1)
Ks: Flynn (2)
What's Next:
Dominican University Baseball moves to 13-20 (6-14 NACC) on the season. The Stars will be on the road at St. Norbert on Saturday, April 25
th, for a doubleheader series against the Green Knights. First pitch of Game 1 is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
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