LIVONIA, Mich. -- The No. 25-ranked Madonna University baseball team capped the 2008 regular season with a 5-0 victory against Rochester College Monday afternoon (April 28) at Ilitch Ballpark. The Crusaders (33-12) used six pitchers who combined for the one-hit shut out with senior Ryan Bardoni picking up the victory, his third of the season.
Senior CF Zack McMillin and junior LF Scott Boyer each had two hits for the day, with Boyer adding a pair of RBIs on a third inning double. Bardoni was deemed the most effective reliever, after setting down all six batters he faced in order with a strike out.
The Crusaders did all their scoring in the first three innings on the way to their tenth shut out of the season. Junior 2B Ryan Morrow got MU on the board with a lead-off bunt single in the first. He would later steal second and score on a wild pitch to give MU a 1-0 lead.
The Crusaders added one more in the second and three in the third, the big blow being the two-run double by Boyer to stake the pitching staff to a 5-0 lead. That lead proved too much for the visiting Warriors (4-18) as they mustered just one hit, a lead-off single by catcher Kevin Kolle in the sixth off Sean Maher.
The win closes the regular season for the Crusaders, who turn their attention to the 2008 WHAC Championship Tournament, beginning Thursday May 1st at Ilitch Ballpark. The host Crusaders are the top-seed and await the loser of game one between Indiana Tech and Concordia. MU will hit the field for the first time at 1:00 pm.
