FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Madonna baseball extended its season-best winning streak to 10 games with a pair of victories on Saturday (April 23) at Indiana Tech. The Crusaders edged the host Warriors in game one, 6-5, before running away with the nightcap to win, 7-2. The pair of victories lifts the Crusaders record to 27-14 overall and 17-4 in the WHAC. The Warriors drop to 26-14 on the season and 10-10 in conference play after suffering the home setbacks to the Crusaders.
GAME ONE – (RV) MADONNA 6, INDIANA TECH 5
After a scoreless first inning for both teams, the Crusader bats heated up in inning number two when John Lauro (Rochester Hills, Mich./UD-Jesuit High School) started the frame off with a one out single to left center. Taylor Grzelakowski (Fraser, Mich./Fraser High School) followed the act with a single of his own, setting the table for a Levi Larmour (Oakville, Ontario/ Mesa CC) RBI double to give the Crusaders a 1-0 lead.
Mitch Hudvagner (Cottam, Ontario/Essex High School), who got the nod behind the dish in the series opener, delivered later in the inning with a RBI single to score Larmour and give the Crusaders a 2-0 advantage heading to the home half of the second. The Warriors answered back with one run in the second, cutting the Crusader lead in half after two innings of play.
Zack Byron (Dexter, Mich./Macomb CC) led off the third inning in style with a solo home run to right field, increasing the Crusader edge in game one to 3-1. The home run was Byron's first of his senior season and the second in a Madonna uniform.
Later in the inning, senior first baseman John Lauro stepped to the plate and turned on a 2-1 pitch to connect on a three-run home run that brought Ryan Lambrecht (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion High School) and Jalen Thomas (Southfield, Mich./Lathrup High School) around to score. The three-run long ball, the second of the season for Lauro, extended the Crusaders lead to 6-1 before the Warriors quickly gained three of the runs back to create a 6-4 spread entering inning number four.
The Warriors would add another run in the sixth, cutting MU's lead to 6-5 before the Crusaders pitching staff slammed the door for the one-run game one victory.
Alex DeYonker (Livonia, Mich./Franklin High School) earned his fifth victory of the season in the game one win after striking out six Warriors over the course of a six-inning performance. DeYonker, now 5-1 on the season, handed the game off to Cliff Landess (Carleton, Mich./Airport High School) who promptly turned in a three-inning save after scattering two hits to go along with a pair of strikeouts. The save was the first of Landess' career and came in a spot where the Crusaders usual closer, Bobby St. Pierre, was unavailable.
GAME TWO – (RV) MADONNA 7, INDIANA TECH 2
Taylor Turner (Northville, Mich./Northville High School) returned to the mound for the first time since his no-hitter on Saturday (April 16) and picked up where he left off, tossing six quality innings in a Crusader win. Turner allowed four hits and two runs over his six innings of work while also striking out a trio of Warriors in the nightcap. After another solid outing, Turner ended the day with a 3-0 record and 2.77 season ERA.
With Turner cruising, the Crusaders were able to take the lead for good behind a five-run second inning. The Crusaders sent all nine batters to the plate in the high-octane second frame, plating the five runs off of four hits, led by senior Ben Matigan (Livonia, Mich./Churchill High School) who walked and followed with a stolen base. Jimmy White (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sinclair CC) advanced Matigan to third base on the first of his three hits in game two and then also stole a base of his own to put runners on second and third for Levi Larmour who walked to load the bases.
Matt Deneau (Amherstburg, Ontario/St. Thomas Villanova High School), the catcher in the nightcap, walked one batter later to earn the easy RBI while Zack Byroncontinued his strong day with a RBI single. The big inning continued as Shane Dokey (Howell, Mich./Brighton High School) singled on a bunt, plating Deneau, while Ryan Lambrecht doubled to right field to drive in the fifth and final run of the frame.
Up 5-0 through two, the Crusaders added two more runs in the third a Deneau RBI and a Warrior error that brought home MU's seventh run of the contest. The seven runs would be all Turner needed as the Crusaders cruised the rest of the way to pick up the Saturday sweep behind a 7-2 game two victory.
Patrick Wierimaa (Redford, Mich./Union High School) came on to seal the deal for the Crusaders in the seventh, working a strong final inning to give the Crusaders their 10th consecutive win.
