De Pere, Wis. – Dominican University Baseball was back on the road with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader at St. Norbert.
Game 1 Results:
Dominican: 3
St Norbert: 5
How it Happened:
-St. Norbert opened the scoring at the bottom of the first and took a 2-0 lead out of the opening frame.
-The Green Knights extended their lead to 3-0 after the second inning.
-After struggling for offense to start the game, the Stars had their first base running at the top of the fourth after Senior
Zach Helein drew a walk, but Helein was not batted home.
-Sophomore
Alex Voegele bounced-back in the middle innings, picking up a 1-2-3 inning at the bottom of the fourth, as DU still trailed 3-0.
-Between the fifth and seventh innings, both offenses were held in check by stellar pitching.
-At the top of the eighth inning, the Dominican bats came alive, beginning with a walk by Freshman
Eric Sanchez. Freshman
Austin Long then singled, followed by a single from Helein. A walk by Senior
Matthew Earley brought home Sanchez, and a sacrifice fly by Junior
Alex Garcia brought the Stars to within one, now trailing 3-2.
-Senior
Aaron O'Grady, who entered in relief of Voegele on the mound, backed up the DU comeback effort by holding the Green Knights scoreless in the eighth.
-With their backs against the wall at the top of the ninth, the Stars started a rally via a single by Senior
Tyler Johnson. Johnson was then pinch ran for by Junior
Connor Kalinowski, who was bunted to second by Sophomore
Christian Pogorzelski. Sophomore
Cooper Marquez launched a single, followed by a walk on Sanchez, loading the bases. Long would pick up the game-tying RBI on a fielder's choice, as the game was all square at 3-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth.
-St. Norbert would then hit a two-run walk off home run at the bottom of the ninth, as Dominican fell by a final score of 5-3.
Shining Stars:
-Senior
Zach Helein finished 2-4 with a walk.
-Freshman
Austin Long went 1-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
-Senior
Matthew Earley had an RBI.
-Junior
Alex Garcia picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
-Sophomore
Alex Voegele went 6.0 innings and had 9 strikeouts.
Leading the Way:
Hits: Helein (2)
RBI: Long, Earley, and Garcia (1)
Runs: Long, Kalinowski, and Sanchez (2)
SH: Pogorzelski (1)
SF: Garcia (1)
SB: Helein and Long (1)
IP: Voegele (6.0)
Ks: Voegele (9)
Game 2 Results:
Dominican: 4
St. Norbert: 0
How it Happened:
-Pitching would dictate the start of game two, as Graduate Student
Matthew Hannafin held SNC scoreless after the second inning.
-Dominican opened the scoring at the top of the third, which began with a leadoff single by Senior
Ricky Powell. Sophomore
Marco Stawski followed Powell with a single of his own. On a fielder's choice during an at-bat by Freshman
Eric Sanchez, Stawski and Powell scored on a Green Knight throwing error. Senior
Zach Helein followed this with a single, scoring Sanchez. After Helein stole second, a single by Junior
Alex Garcia finished off the inning, with the Stars leading 4-0.
-Hannafin continued to be dominant on the mound for DU in the innings that followed, picking up three strikeouts between the third and fourth innings.
-At the top of the fifth, Dominican left two runners stranded on base and could not extend their lead.
-Defense and pitching continued to be the story of Game 2, with neither squad able to generate enough offense to break the 4-0 scoreline.
-In the end, a 1-2-3 inning by Hannafin at the bottom of the ninth, including two strikeouts, sealed the 4-0 victory for the Stars.
Shining Stars:
-Graduate Student
Matthew Hannafin threw a complete game shutout, collecting a career-high 10 strikeouts in the win.
-Senior
Tyler Johnson went 2-3 with a walk.
-Senior
Zach Helein was 1-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
-Junior
Alex Garcia finished 1-4 with an RBI.
Leading the Way:
Hits: Johnson (2)
RBI: Helein and Garcia (1)
SB: Helein (1)
IP: Hannafin (9.0)
Ks: Hannafin (10)
What's Next:
Dominican University Baseball moves to 14-21 (7-15 NACC) on the season. The Stars will close out the regular season with a Tuesday afternoon doubleheader at Illinois Tech on April 28
th. First pitch against the Scarlet Hawks is slated for 1:00 p.m.
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