LIVONIA, Mich. – Madonna baseball extended its season-long winning streak to seven games with a doubleheader sweep over the visiting Racers of Northwestern Ohio on Friday (April 1) at Ilitch Ballpark. The Crusaders improved their record to 17-12 overall and 7-2 in the WHAC after defeating the Racers 9-1 in game one and 4-3 in the nightcap.
The Racers dropped to 16-10 on the season and 5-5 in the WHAC after day one of two in the scheduled four-game series. Day two of the four-game set begins at 12 p.m. Saturday (April 2) at Ilitch Ballpark.
GAME ONE – MADONNA 9, UNOH 1
Alex DeYonker (Livonia, Mich./Franklin High School) got the ball from head coach Greg Haeger in game one and didn't disappoint, going seven innings to pick up his third win of the 2016 campaign. DeYonker held the Racers to one run over seven innings while striking out four to lower his season ERA to 4.18 through six total appearances.
With DeYonker dealing, the Crusader bats did the rest as Ryan Lambrecht (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion High School) started a nine-run opener with a RBI double to left center that scored Zack Byron (Dexter, Mich./Macomb CC). Lambrecht later scored in the inning off of a passed ball to give the Crusaders a 2-0 lead after one inning.
Pitching took over for the innings to follow before the Racers plated one in the top of the fifth on a sac fly from Kyle Fisher. Up one, 2-1, the Crusaders answered with a four-run home half of the fifth, led off by a Shane Dokey (Howell, Mich./Brighton High School) RBI single up the middle. Dokey's single brought around Jalen Thomas(Southfield, Mich./Lathrup High School) while Lambrecht followed one batter later with a RBI single of his own to extend the Crusaders edge to 4-1.
The Crusaders scratched two more across in the fifth off of a pair of Racer errors to take a commanding 6-1 advantage midway through the opener.
Insurance runs would come in the eighth inning as Thomas singled to left center to score Chase Dobbie (Mississauga, Ontario/Meadowvale Secondary) to get the scoring starting in the frame. Dokey would lift his game one RBI total to three later in the inning with a two-RBI single to left field that plated Thomas and Mike Tibbits (Plymouth, Mich./Holy Cross).
Patrick Wierimaa (Redford, Mich./Union High School) came on to pitch a perfect final two innings in relief of DeYonker.
Dokey and Lambrecht paced the Crusaders, combining for five of the team's six RBIs in game one.
GAME TWO – MADONNA 4, UNOH 3
The current winning streak reached seven games after Zack Byron broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning with his RBI single to left that brought Jalen Thomas in to score from second base. Byron's single stood as the game-winning RBI as Bobby St. Pierre – who entered in the sixth – picked up the win by sitting down the Racers in order in the seventh and final inning. St. Pierre (Windsor, Ontario/Crowder CC) gave up a run in the sixth to allow the Racers to tie the game, but came back stronger an inning later to secure his first win of the season and fourth overall in a Crusader uniform.
Before St. Pierre picked up the win, the Crusaders were forced to come from behind as the Racers took a 2-0 lead in the second off of a two-run home run. John Lauro (Rochester Hills, Mich./UD-Jesuit High School) started the Crusader comeback in the third with a RBI single to left center, scoring Lambrecht and advancing Taylor Grzelakowski (Fraser, Mich./Fraser High School) to second.
Jimmy White (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sinclair CC) doubled to right one batter later to bring around Grzelakowski and push Lauro to third, lifting the Crusaders even with the Racers, 2-2. Levi Larmour (Oakville, Ontario/Mesa CC) showcased patience later in the inning, drawing a walk as part of a long at-bat to pick up the easy RBI and give the Crusaders a 3-2 lead after three.
The Racers got one back in the sixth to knot the game up, 3-3, before Byron's late-game heroics sealed game two and the Friday sweep for the Crusaders in the 4-3 victory.
Taylor Turner (Northville, Mich./Northville High School) got the start in game two and left in line for the win after tossing four innings of four-hit, two-run ball. Zack Schmidtke (Dearborn Heights, Mich./Divine Child Catholic) came on in relief and faced two batters to get the Crusaders out of a jam in the fifth inning.
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