NOVI, MI - GAME 1: Madonna University turned an early deficit into a convincing victory, riding a six-run surge over the first five innings and a quality start from Ethan Gajewski to a 7-1 win over Michigan-Dearborn on Sunday afternoon in Novi, Mich.
After Michigan-Dearborn grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Crusaders immediately seized control with a decisive three-run bottom half of the inning that proved to be the turning point. Ty Stepek opened the frame with a single, and Kooper Etheridge reached on a fielder's choice to keep the inning alive. Donovan Thompson followed with a run-scoring single to bring Etheridge home, and Luke Spicer added an RBI single to cap the rally and put Madonna in front 3-1, a lead the Crusaders never relinquished.
Madonna continued to apply pressure in the third inning. With traffic on the bases, Jack Nilson delivered one of the game's biggest swings, ripping a two-run single that stretched the advantage to 5-1. The Crusaders capitalized again in the fourth when Aamir Mitchell came home on a wild pitch for an unearned run and a 6-1 cushion. In the fifth, Chris Clark reached and later scored on a single to left by Gus Simon, pushing the margin to 7-1 and effectively putting the game out of reach.
That offensive support was more than enough for Gajewski, who anchored the Madonna pitching staff with an efficient outing. The right-hander worked six innings, allowing just four hits and one run while striking out four on 79 pitches. He kept Michigan-Dearborn off the board after the first inning, retiring hitters in rhythm and limiting hard contact to preserve the Crusaders' lead. Madonna's bullpen handled the seventh, closing the game with a scoreless frame to finish off the staff's combined five-hitter.
Madonna's lineup produced 11 hits and six RBIs, spreading the damage across the order. Nilson finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Simon added two hits, two RBIs and a run scored. Thompson and Spicer each drove in a run as part of the three-run first, and the Crusaders drew four walks while striking out just twice. Defensively, Madonna was clean behind its pitchers, committing no errors, while Michigan-Dearborn was charged with three.
Michigan-Dearborn's lone run came in the opening inning, when Max Granatstein doubled to right-center and later scored on an RBI groundout by Beck Kjeldbjerg for a brief 1-0 edge. Kjeldbjerg and Granatstein highlighted the Wolverines' offense with Kjeldbjerg collecting two hits and the team's only RBI, and Granatstein finishing with a double, a hit and a run scored. Gavin Hollon added Michigan-Dearborn's final hit with a single up the middle in the seventh.
With the win, Madonna combined timely hitting, error-free defense and steady pitching to take control early and maintain it throughout seven innings. The Crusaders' balanced effort at the plate and on the mound set a strong tone in the doubleheader.
GAME 2:
Madonna University used a steady offensive buildup and a dominant pitching effort to post an 11-0, seven-inning shutout of Michigan-Dearborn on Sunday afternoon in Novi, Mich. The Crusaders scored in six of seven frames and backed starter Alex Hardacre's four scoreless innings with timely hitting, aggressive baserunning and error-free defense to close out the run-rule victory.
The decisive stretch came from the second through fifth innings, when Madonna turned a scoreless game into a commanding 6-0 lead. The breakthrough started in the second, as Jason Serafinchon doubled to left-center to bring home Luke Spicer for a 1-0 advantage. In the third, Aamir Mitchell added instant offense with a solo home run, doubling the lead and giving the Crusaders early separation that held the rest of the way.
Madonna continued to capitalize on opportunities in the middle innings. In the fourth, Chris Clark manufactured a run, eventually scoring on a throwing error by the catcher after advancing on a passed ball and a walk, pushing the margin to 3-0. The Crusaders then broke the game open in the fifth with a three-run frame, highlighted by Ty Stepek's two-RBI triple to left that extended the lead to 6-0 and firmly tilted momentum toward the home dugout.
The Crusaders put the game out of reach with a four-run sixth. Serafinchon singled to right to drive in another run, and later in the inning Kooper Etheridge lined a two-RBI single to left. A throwing error on a subsequent play allowed an additional unearned run to score, capping the inning and stretching the lead to double digits. Madonna finished with 11 runs on nine hits while drawing nine walks, getting hit by three pitches and swiping seven bases, consistently pressuring Michigan-Dearborn's defense, which committed four errors.
On the mound, Hardacre set the tone for Madonna's staff. The right-hander worked 4.0 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and four walks while striking out five on 66 pitches, 37 for strikes. The Crusaders' bullpen followed to complete the combined three-hit shutout, as the staff collectively struck out 10 and held Michigan-Dearborn to 0-for with runners in key spots, stranding seven on base. Madonna played clean behind its pitchers, finishing without an error.
Mitchell led the offense with a well-rounded performance, going 2-for-3 with a home run, a triple, two RBIs and a run scored. Serafinchon reached base four times in as many plate appearances, finishing 2-for-2 with a double, two RBIs, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Stepek added a key triple and two RBIs, while Etheridge chipped in with a two-RBI single and a hit-by-pitch. Ten Crusaders reached base as Madonna turned traffic on the basepaths into steady run production in six different innings.
With the 11-0 victory, Madonna reinforced its formula of deep, patient lineups paired with a strikeout-capable pitching staff. The Crusaders' combination of nine hits, nine walks and seven stolen bases, along with three-hit, 10-strikeout pitching, provided a complete performance that sets a strong tone as the schedule moves deeper into March.
