The Aquinas baseball team finished off the four-game series against Lawrence Tech on Monday evening (Mar. 8) in Detroit, with AQ winning three of four games over the Blue Devils. After a split on Sunday (Mar. 7), the Saints captured 8-3 and 3-1 wins on Monday to close out the series.
 
With the victories, Aquinas improves to 7-2 on the season. Lawrence Tech drops to 1-3, after its first series of the season. The series was a non-conference matchup between the two WHAC schools; they're scheduled to meet again in conference play on Mar. 26 in AQ's 2021 home opener.
 
Aquinas could not have started better in Monday's opener, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the first inning. Dane Smitz delivered a two-run single and Alec Lockwood added a run-scoring single to make it 4-0. The Saints scored four runs in the inning on a bases loaded walk, two errors, and a groundout; AQ finished the inning with a 7-0 lead on only three base hits.
 
Lawrence Tech plated single runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings, but Aquinas made it 8-3 with another bases loaded walk in the fifth. Both teams registered five hits in the game, but the Saints took advantage of three LTU errors and earned the 8-3 victory.
 
Eight Saints scored a run and five AQ players collected one hit each. Smitz collected two RBI and Chris Suriel Garcia walked twice. Travis Keys earned the victory, as he gave up three runs on five  hits in five innings. He struck out six Blue Devils. Conor Gausselin pitched two hitless innings of relief to preserve the victory.
 
LTU led game two by a 1-0 score in the fifth, when Nathan Hughes came to the plate with a pair of runners in scoring position. He delivered an opposite field single that fell into right center field for a two-run tally, bringing Lucas Weinert and Michael Maher across for a 2-1 lead.
 
Michael Casterline was lifted after five strong innings, giving up one run on three hits. He walked one and struck out six. Grant Smitz entered the game in the sixth and after a groundout, he struck out consecutive batters to end the frame. Leading 3-1 in the seventh, Smitz struck out the side to collect the save. 
 
AQ held a slim 4-3 edge in hits, with Hughes finishing 2-for-3 with the big two-run single. Weinert and Alex Strickland collected the other two base knocks.
 
The Saints are back in action on Tuesday (Mar. 9), when they travel to Howell to take on Cleary. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.