LIVONIA, Mich. -- Madonna baseball moved their record back to .500 with a doubleheader sweep over the visiting Foresters of Huntington (Ind.) on Wednesday (March 16) at Ilitch Ballpark. Hosting their home opener, the Crusaders won game one, 5-1, before taking a wild and windy nightcap by a 16-11 final score.
The Crusaders, now 19-4 over their past 23 home games, have won back-to-back home openers after toppling Huntington twice Wednesday afternoon.
GAME ONE – MADONNA 5, HUNTINGTON 1
Anchored by stellar pitching performances, the Crusaders were able to cruise to a 5-1 victory in Wednesday's opener. Cliff Landess (Carelton, Mich./Airport High School) got the start and the win after going four innings and only giving up one unearned run. The sophomore struck out five Foresters while only allowing three hits over the four-plus innings of work. After getting into trouble in the fifth, Landess gave way to Zack Schmidtke (Dearborn Heights, Mich./Divine Child Catholic) who promptly retired three straight to keep the Crusaders in front, 2-1, after four and a half innings.
Setup man Patrick Wierimaa (Redford, Mich./Union High School) came on in the sixth to record a pair of strikeouts as part of a scoreless frame, while Taylor Turner(Northville, Mich./Northville High School) shut down the Foresters in the seventh to preserve the 5-1 victory.
As part of a big day, freshman designated hitter Jalen Thomas (Southfield, Mich./Lathrup High School) went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs in the opener, including a fifth inning single through the left side that plated Ryan Lambrecht (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion High School). Thomas got the Crusaders on the board in the opener with a first inning RBI that also brought home Lambrecht.
In the bottom of the fourth, senior infielder Chase Dobbie (Mississauga, Ontario/Meadowvale Secondary) singled to left to bring in Zack Byron (Dexter, Mich./Macomb CC) to give the Crusaders a 2-1 edge. Dobbie's drive to left field resulted in the eventual game-winning run as Crusader pitching took care of the rest in the opener.
The Crusaders plated a pair of insurance runs in the home half of the sixth inning, one run off of a Byron triple to deep right center and another via a Matt Deneau(Amherstburgh, Ontario/Saint Thomas Villanova) single down the right field line that scored Byron.
GAME TWO – MADONNA 16, HUNTINGTON 11
The wind picked up and was unforgiving in the nightcap as the Crusaders and Foresters combined for 27 runs and 35 hits over the second seven inning contest of the day. A pitcher's nightmare, the wind whipped over 40 mph throughout the latter game, causing a plethora of hits to fall in as both team's offenses took advantage.
In a game that featured five lead changes, the Crusaders jumped on top with a three-run first that was sparked by a Lambrecht RBI double to right field. The Foresters came back to post seven runs in the top of the second off of a grand slam and a three-run home run only to see their new lead erased by a five-run Crusader home half of the second inning. A Lambrecht RBI triple and a three-run home run by Thomas highlighted the Crusaders second inning as MU regained a narrow 8-7 lead after two frames.
The three-run shot over the left field wall was the first of Thomas' career as the freshman continues his torrid pace in to start his Madonna career.
After another Forester push, the Crusaders bounced back for good behind a six-run fourth inning to earn the high-scoring affair by five, 16-11. Ben Matigian(Livonia, Mich./Churchill High School) started the inning off with an RBI while Mike Tibbits (Plymouth, Mich./Holy Cross) scored on a wild pitch one batter later. Shane Dokey (Howell, Mich./Brighton High School) and Jimmy White (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sinclair CC) connected on RBI doubles in the inning while Byron and Lambrecht got in on the fun with RBI singles.
Zack Schmidtke earned the win – his first collegiate victory – after tossing 1 1/3 innings of one-hit ball in relief.
Lambrecht led a high-octane MU effort with a perfect 5-for-5 effort and three runs scored and a pair of RBIs. The senior was followed by Byron who went 4-for-5 with four runs scored and White who chimed in with a 2-for-3 day with a team-high tying three RBIs. Levi Larmour (Oakville, Ontario/Mesa CC) went 3-for-4 with two runs scored while Dokey rounded out the top MU performances at the plate with 2-for-2 game with a pair of RBIs.
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