The Aquinas baseball team had a tough afternoon in Howell, Mich. on Tuesday (Mar. 10), as the Saints were shut out in both ends of a doubleheader at Cleary. After taking three out of four games against Lawrence Tech over the weekend, AQ was topped by the Cougars, 2-0 and 8-0.
Aquinas had lost just twice before Tuesday, entering the game against Cleary with a solid 7-2 record. The losses on Tuesday put the Saints at 7-4 on the season, while Cleary improves to 3-6 overall.
Game one was a pitcher's duel, with only six total hits between the teams. Cleary plated a single run in the third and fourth innings – on a groundout and a sacrifice fly – for the game's lone runs.
The Cougars took the unorthodox method of using a different pitcher in all seven innings of the game, which kept AQ off balance and unable to put together any productive innings.
Chris Suriel Garcia and
Ryan Gillings each recorded a hit, while Colton Vanderleest walked twice.
Colin Smith was dealt the loss, allowing two earned runs on only three hits. He did walk five batters and struck out one batter.
Bruce Buurstra pitched 2.2 innings of one-hit relief to keep the Saints within striking distance.
Cleary jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first inning in the nightcap and added three runs in the fourth frame. The Cougars employed the same pitching strategy in game two, with seven different pitchers tossing one inning apiece. Aquinas mustered only three hits in game two, as
Lucas Weinert,
Alec Lockwood, and
Alex Strickland all tallied a base hit.
Hunter Morrison started and pitched three innings, giving up five runs on five hits.
Nathan Myers allowed three runs in his lone inning of relief.
Richard Steffan tossed 1.2 innings of hitless relief and
Tyler Zomerlei retired the only batter he faced in the sixth.
Aquinas heads to Crestwood, Ill. for a pair of non-conference doubleheaders this weekend. The Saints take on Trinity Christian on Saturday (Mar. 13) and Saint Ambrose on Sunday (Mar. 14).
