LIVONIA, Mich. - - The Madonna University baseball team used an 18-run, 19-hit performance at the plate and a combined two-hit shutout on the mound to down visiting Rochester College 18-0 at Ilitch Ballpark on Thursday. With the win MU improves to 17-7 overall.  

Madonna opened the offensive flood gates early, plating five runs in the bottom of the first inning as Shawn Little (Canton, Mich.) took the first Matt Sutherland offering he saw over the wall in right for a 1-0 MU lead. Three straight singles off the bats of Kevin Zerbo (Farmington, Mich.), Dave Herrick (Westland, Mich.) and Pat Kenny (Roseville, Mich.) scored another run to bring Scott Boyer (Flat Rock, Mich.) to the plate. Boyer then connected on a three-run homer to push the MU lead to 5-0 after one complete inning.

The Crusaders tacked on three more tallies in the second as the first three MU hitters reached base before Herrick drove in a run on a single to center for a 6-0 lead. Kenny drove in two more runs on a single to center to make it 8-0 after two complete.

The MU sticks were swinging again in the fourth as Kenny drove in Levi Cheshire (Troy, Mich.) on a sac fly to make it 9-0. Boyer then drove in Zerbo who had singled earlier in the inning to make it 10-0. The Crusaders added on to the lead with six more runs in the fifth as Zerbo singled in Ryan Morrow (Taylor, Mich.)before John McCracken (Pinckney, Mich.) blasted his first career grand slam to left to extend the Madonna lead to 15-0. Zack McMillin (Grand Ledge, Mich.) then drove in Kenny, who followed McCracken with a double of his own, to make it 16-0 after five innings.

The royal and gold rounded out the scoring in the sixth as McCracken singled in Mike Cauzillo (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and McMillin posted another sac fly to score Mike Gansser (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) for the final MU tally.

Richard Hammer (Garden City, Mich.) started on the mound for MU, going two innings and allowing hit before giving way to Carl McDevitt (Canton, Mich.) who posted a pair of perfect innings of relief work to pick up the win. Five MU hurlers combined to allow just two Warrior hits for the day. McDevitt picked up his team best fourth win of the season.

The Crusaders return to action this weekend with a four-game series at St. Xavier in Chicago.