Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cardinal Field)
Scores: Concordia 10, Madonna 4; Madonna 8, Concordia 0
Records: MU (17-16; 4-8 WHAC), CUAA (13-21; 7-5 WHAC)
Next MU event: Friday, April 11 vs. Lourdes (Ilitch Ballpark) – 2 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – After seeing a 4-0 lead erased in the day's opener in a 10-4 loss, the Madonna University baseball team used a complete game on the mound from senior righty Dane Staples to go along with 12 hits in an 8-0 shutout of Concordia to earn a split in a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference doubleheader at Cardinal Field.
Staples (Plymouth, Mich. / Canton) allowed just four hits in picking up his first win as a Crusader and struck out four. Freshman third baseman Ryan Lambrecht (Lake Orion, Mich. / Lake Orion) led MU at the plate in game one with three hits while sophomore first baseman John Lauro (Rochester Hills, Mich. / University of Detroit Jesuit), sophomore second baseman Shane Dokey (Howell, Mich. / Brighton), sophomore left fielder Ben Matigian (Livonia, Mich. / Churchill) and freshman right fielder Zack Schmidtke (Dearborn Heights, Mich. / Divine Child Catholic) each had two hits with Lauro clubbing his first home run of the season.
MU got on the board with two runs in the top of the first as Dokey and Lambrecht reached on back-to-back singles to open the game. A fly ball off the bat of senior shortstop Victor Barron (Fowlerville, Mich. / Fowlerville) allowed Dokey to come home from second after an error by Concordia for a 1-0 lead. Matigian then singled home Lambrecht for a 2-0 lead.
Staples worked out of a jam in the fourth, getting three straight ground balls with two runners on to keep CUAA off the board.
Madonna added two more runs in the top of the sixth starting with Lauro's solo home run to right for a 3-0 lead. Schmidtke followed with a single and was run for by senior Ryan Lech (Macomb, Mich. / L'Anse Creuse North). Lech moved to second on an infield single from freshman center fielder Dee Jawad (Dearborn Heights, Mich. / Crestwood) and when both runners stole, the throw that was attempting to cut Jawad down at second went high, allowing Lech to come home for a 4-0 lead.
The Crusaders blew the game open in the top of the second as Matigian singled home the fifth MU run before Lauro singled home two more runs and Schmidtke drove in the eighth run with a RBI ground out for the 8-0 lead.
After allowing the first two batters to reach in the last of the seventh, Staples settled in, getting the final two batters of the game to strike out for the 8-0 win.
Nate McHugh had two of CUAA's four hits in the nightcap while Marshall Oetting suffered the loss, giving up four runs on eight hits in his 5.1 innings of work.
Madonna took a 4-0 lead in the first inning of game one, only to see Concordia answer with 10 straight runs in a 10-4 loss.
Dokey led off with a double and Lambrecht followed with a single. Freshman third baseman Taylor Grzelakowski (Fraser, Mich. / Fraser) was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Barron drew a walk to force in a run for a 1-0 lead. A wild pitch allowed the second MU run to score before a ground out from freshman right fielder Dalton Ovesen (Oxford, Mich. / Lake Orion) made it 3-0. A RBI ground out from Lauro scored Barron and gave MU a 4-0 lead.
Concordia got to freshman left Alex DeYonker (Livonia, Mich. / Franklin) for single runs in the third, fifth and sixth before scoring six unearned runs in the seventh to lead 9-4. CUAA added an insurance run in the eighth for the 10-4 final.
Senior righty Tyler Schofield (Windsor, Ontario / FJ Brennan) suffered the loss after being charged with six unearned runs in his two innings of work. Dokey led MU with three hits to go along with a pair each from Lambrecht and Lauro in the setback.
Mike Melcher earned the win for CUAA, allowing no runs in his 5.2 innings of relief. Jeremy Robinson posted four hits for CUAA in the win.
MU has had to make changes to its remaining schedule for this week as Thursday's (April 10) at Rochester has been canceled due to unplayable field conditions at Rochester. This weekend's WHAC series against Lourdes at Ilitch Ballpark has been moved up one day and will now take place on Friday and Saturday (April 11-12). First pitch on Friday is set for 2 p.m. with Saturday still being a 1 p.m. start.
