After dropping the opening game of a non-conference doubleheader on Sunday (Mar. 14) against Saint Ambrose on a walk-off, the Aquinas baseball team bounced back to defeat the Fighting Bees in game two and split the twinbill. Saint Ambrose scored three late runs to walk off in game one (5-4) before AQ scored the final nine runs to win game two (9-4).
With the split, the Saints are 9-6 on the season and Saint Ambrose is 4-9 overall.
AQ was ahead 2-0 in the top of the first of game one on RBI groundouts from
Nathan Hughes and
Dane Smitz. The Saints moved ahead 4-1 with a pair of
Kelvin Aracena run-scoring singles in the fourth and fifth innings.
Saint Ambrose made it 4-2 in the sixth inning and walked off with a three-run seventh inning for the 5-4 victory. Aquinas outhit the Fighting Bees, 9-5. Smitz finished 2-for-4 and Aracena went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Michael Maher and
Brady Paganelli each walked twice and scored a run, while
Nick Brzezinski tripled in the loss.
Travis Keys put together a strong outing, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits in six innings on the hill. He walked two and registered eight strikeouts.
The Fighting Bees took the momentum from the walkoff win and scored four runs in the top of the first inning in the nightcap. From there, it was all Aquinas, as the Saints scored the next nine runs in the game.
Hughes tallied a two-run triple to help AQ pull within a run at 4-3.
Alex Strickland tied the game at 4-4 with an RBI single in the fifth inning and the Saints moved ahead 6-4 on a pair of run-scoring wild pitches. Aquinas made it a 9-4 advantage and eventual win with three runs in the sixth inning, all of which came on SAU errors.
Each team totaled seven hits, with seven Saints recording one hit apiece. Paganelli (two walks) and Maher each scored twice, while Hughes drove in a pair of runs.
Michael Casterline allowed four runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings. He walked four, but struck out seven Bees.
Colin Smith worked a hitless 1.1 innings of relief, striking out three. The Saints hurlers struck out 18 batters on Sunday.
AQ heads back to Howell on Thursday (Mar. 18) for a 2:00 p.m. non-conference doubleheader against Cleary.