LIVONIA, Mich. – Starting pitchers Evan Piechota and Johno Rodriguez combined for 14 strikeouts, holding Concordia-Ann Arbor at bay throughout Wednesday's (April 13) doubleheader as Madonna baseball swept the visiting Cardinals, 3-1 and 4-0, at Ilitch Ballpark. After picking up a pair of crucial WHAC wins, the Crusaders moved their record to 19-14 overall and 9-4 in league play.
The Cardinals dropped to 11-4 in the WHAC and 21-11 overall after falling twice in Livonia on Wednesday afternoon.
GAME ONE – MADONNA 3, CONCORDIA-ANN ARBOR 1
Evan Piechota (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson High School) was dominant once again, fanning eight Cardinals over 8 2/3 innings pitched in a 3-1 Crusaders win to open Wednesday's action. After getting into trouble in the second and allowing a run, Piechota dialed up three consecutive strikeouts to end the frame with limited damage. The trio of punch outs ignited Piechota the rest of the way as the senior shut down the Cardinals until giving way to closer Bobby St. Pierre (Windsor, Ontario/Crowder CC) with one out remaining in the opener.
St. Pierre closed out the game two batters later, protecting Piechota's two-run lead to earn his eighth save of the season and give the senior starter his fifth win of the campaign.
Down 1-0 through six and a half, the Crusaders were finally able to break through offensively when senior third baseman Levi Larmour (Oakville, Ontario/Mesa CC) launched a two-run home run well over the left field wall to give MU a 2-1 lead in the seventh. The two-run home run was the first of the season for Larmour as the senior came up clutch for Piechota and the Crusaders in the late stages of Wednesday's opener.
Larmour's shot was followed an inning later by a line drive solo home run off the bat of freshman Jalen Thomas (Southfield, Mich./Lathrup High School). Thomas' home run gave Piechota, St. Pierre and the Crusaders all they needed as MU went on to win by the two-run margin.
GAME TWO – MADONNA 4, CONCORDIA-ANN ARBOR 0
For the second time in as many outings, Johno Rodriguez (Sterling Heights, Mich./Indian Hills CC) followed a dominant Piechota performance with a gem of his own. Rodriguez struck out six over six innings, holding the Cardinals to one hit as the junior transfer lowered his season ERA to 1.99 in the process. For Rodriguez, the one-hitter was his third in a Crusader uniform (second in a row).
Unlike game one, the Crusaders provided run support early as Jalen Thomas continued his monster day with a double to deep right center that scored John Lauro (Rochester Hills, Mich./UD-Jesuit High School) from first. Zack Byron (Dexter, Mich./Macomb CC) singled to left center later in the frame to bring around Thomas, giving the Crusaders a 2-0 edge through two innings.
Ryan Lambrecht (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion High School) extended the Crusaders lead in the fifth with a RBI single through the right side while Thomas ended the scoring an inning later with a RBI single of his own. The pair of RBI singles gave the Crusaders a 4-0 lead – a lead that would hold to give MU the midweek sweep over the Cardinals.
Thomas led the Crusaders with a 2-for-3 nightcap with two RBI while Byron and Lauro collected two hits each.
