SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – After dropping a low scoring game one, 2-1, Madonna baseball bounced back to plate 15 runs on 22 hits in the nightcap to top the host Cougars of Spring Arbor, 15-11. Three Crusaders drove in three or more runs to lead a game two charge and force a split with the Cougars on Saturday (March 19) in Spring Arbor, Mich.
With the Saturday split, the Crusaders enter Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play on Wednesday (March 23) at Concordia-Ann Arbor with an even 10-10 record. The Cougars finished the day with a 4-8 mark.
GAME ONE – SPRING ARBOR 2, MADONNA 1
Evan Piechota (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson High School) was solid again, going seven innings and only allowing two runs, but the Crusaders could not get the bats going for the senior's second straight start as MU fell in game one, 2-1. The loss sends Piechota to 3-2 on the season despite the senior owning a stellar 1.52 ERA through five appearances.
Opposite Piechota was Brody Harris who went an equal seven innings with seven strikeouts (one earned run) to hold the Crusaders at bay in the low-scoring opener. Harris scattered five hits before handing off to Duncan Patterson who came in to pitch the final two innings for the save.
Both teams scored early with the Cougars striking first in the first inning by plating one run off of three hits to take a 1-0 lead. The Crusaders responded with a run of their own in the second inning when Levi Larmour (Oakville, Ontario/Mesa CC) came in to tie the game, 1-1, after Matt Deneau (Amherstburg, Ontario/Saint Thomas Villanova) hit into a fielder's choice.
Piechota settled down after a long first inning to only allow five hits over his final six innings of work, but the Cougars were able to scratch their second and final run across in the fourth to squeak out a 2-1 victory.
The Crusaders came up empty the rest of the way despite putting a runner on base in four of the final five innings.
GAME TWO – MADONNA 15, SPRING ARBOR 11
MU's bats erupted for the second time in three games, scoring 15 runs off of 22 hits to top the Cougars in the nightcap, 15-11. The Crusaders hit .564 for the game, led by a perfect 4-for-4 effort from Zack Byron (Dexter, Mich./Macomb CC). The senior was one of three Crusaders with three of more RBIs as the one-through-five hitters drove in 13 of the team's 15 runs.
John Lauro (Rochester Hills, Mich./UD-Jesuit High School) and Ben Matigian (Livonia, Mich./Churchill High School) recorded four RBIs each as the pair teamed up with Byron to drive home 11 runs – tying the Cougars final score in the nightcap.
MU's bats were off and running early, scoring four runs in the first as eight Crusaders came to the plate in the inning. A Ryan Lambrecht (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion High School) RBI single down the right field line got the scoring started while Lauro followed two batters later with an opposite field double that drove in two to give the Crusaders a 3-0 lead. Shane Dokey (Howell, Mich./Brighton High School) came up next and sent a double to center to bring in Lauro, giving the Crusaders the early 4-0 advantage.
As part of a game that included runs scored by MU in all but one inning, the Crusaders extended their lead to 8-2 after a three-run fourth frame that was led by a two-run home run by Matigian. The home run to left field was the first of the season for Matigian and was the first of two Crusader shots that cleared the outfield wall Saturday afternoon.
Two more runs came across in the fifth as Byron and Matigian singles gave the Crusaders a 10-4 edge in response to two scored by the Cougars a half-inning prior. The Crusaders' bats continued to roll in the sixth, scoring four runs on four singles to jump ahead by 10 with a 14-4 lead. With the game seemingly out of reach, the Cougars fought back to get within four, 14-10, after a six-run rally in the home half of the sixth.
An insurance run came in the top of the seventh off the bat of Lauro as the senior put the finishing touches on a 4-for-5 nightcap by connecting on a solo shot to right – his first of the season – to round out the scoring for the Crusaders in the 15-11 victory.
In all, nine Crusaders recorded a hit in the 15-run explosion while seven drove in a run.
Johno Rodriguez (Sterling Heights, Mich./Indian Hills CC) notched his third win in a Crusader uniform, striking out four in 3 2/3 innings pitched. A cast of Adam Prashad, Zack Schmidtke, Cliff Landess, Patrick Wierimaa and Bobby St. Pierre came on in relief to hold off the Cougars and help the Crusaders secure the non-conference split.
