ROCHESTER, Mich. -- The Madonna University baseball team (15-13, 5-3 WHAC) showcased their offensive power in a 10-3 victory in game one over Rochester Christian University (3-18, 1-7 WHAC). In a high-scoring affair for game two, the Crusaders would pick up their second win and the sweep of Rochester Christian with a 16-12 win ultimately holding off a late surge from Rochester Christian to secure the victory. 

Game 1:
Madonna wasted no time jumping out to a significant lead, scoring five runs in the first inning. The scoring barrage began with a double from Luke Spicer, driving in Ty Stepek. Then, Bobby Cavin's 3-run homer to left field, which scored Kyle Revere and Spicer, had the Crusaders ahead 4-0. Peyton Mazzola's sacrifice fly plated Jason Serafinchon for the fifth and final run of the inning.
The second inning saw the Crusaders add to their margin. Stepek, continuing his strong performance, hit a solo home run, bringing the score to 6-0. Later, Cavin reached first on a fielding error, but no more runs would score for Madonna in the second.
Rochester Christian attempted to mount a comeback in the fifth inning. They finally broke onto the scoreboard with three runs, thanks to some timely hitting. However, their rally would fall short as Madonna's defense and pitching locked down the game in the later innings.
Madonna tacked on one more run in the fifth, but neither team scored in the final two innings. The Crusaders' Alex Duley (3-2) earned the win, while Rochester Christian's Ryan Polega (0-4) took the loss. Madonna's offensive explosion was key to the victory, with Cavin's 3-run homer and Stepek's contributions leading the way.

Game 2:
The Crusaders wasted no time in taking control of the game. In the top of the first inning, Stepek led the charge, scoring the first run after Revere reached base on a throwing error by the Rochester Christian shortstop. This put Madonna ahead 1-0.
Rochester Christian responded in the bottom of the second inning when J. LaRue singled to left field, driving in L. Bateman to tie the game at 1-1. The Warriors' offense seemed poised to give Madonna a run for their money, but the Crusaders quickly regained the upper hand.
Madonna's offensive powerhouse, T. Stepek continued his hot streak in the third inning, hitting a 2-RBI home run that brought in Chris Clark to make it 3-1. The Crusaders were firing on all cylinders, and their early momentum didn't slow down.
In the fourth inning, Stepek kept things rolling, doubling to left field to drive in Clark once again and extend Madonna's lead to 4-1.
Madonna really took control of the game with a massive 5-run inning in the fifth. The Crusaders scored with a combination of well-placed hits and some defensive mistakes from Rochester Christian. By the end of the frame, Madonna had taken a commanding 9-1 lead.
Despite the large deficit, Rochester Christian refused to go quietly. In the bottom of the fifth, the Warriors mounted a 3-run rally to get within striking distance. After a strong single and a couple of walks, they capitalized on a few Madonna miscues to cut the lead to 9-4. The Warriors then tacked on another run in the sixth, and then six more runs in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead all the way down to one.
Madonna wasn't finished, however. They scored 4 more runs in the eighth inning, giving them some security runs heading into the ninth inning. By the time the final inning rolled around, the Crusaders had a 16-12 lead, which allowed them to comfortably close out the game.
On the mound, Madonna's Carson Collins (3-1) earned the win. The game featured the Madonna version of the Detroit Tigers "pitching chaos" as a total of seven arms would see the mound in this matchup.


UP NEXT:

The Crusaders will be back in action Monday, March 17th to make up their game with Cleary that was rescheduled from Saturday, March 15th due to weather. First pitch is set for 1:00 PM.   


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