BASE LMCU 0425
4
Winner Mich.-Dearborn UMD 8-9
0
Aquinas AQ 20-20
Winner
Mich.-Dearborn UMD
8-9
4
Final
0
Aquinas AQ
20-20
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Mich.-Dearborn UMD 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 4 7 0
Aquinas AQ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1

W: T. Koons (3-1) L: Keys, Travis (4-2) S: D. Bos (2)

5
Mich.-Dearborn UMD 8-10
6
Winner Aquinas AQ 21-20
Mich.-Dearborn UMD
8-10
5
Final
6
Aquinas AQ
21-20
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Mich.-Dearborn UMD 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 5 6 2
Aquinas AQ 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 2 6 7 5

W: Steffan, Richard (3-2) L: J. Hook (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | DJ Foster, Director of External Relations & Athletic Communications 

Keys’ Strikeouts, Nawrocki’s Walk-Off Highlight Twinbill at Whitecaps Stadium

AQ drops opener to UM-Dearborn 4-0, earns 6-5 comeback victory in nightcap

The Aquinas baseball team earned a WHAC doubleheader split against UM-Dearborn on Sunday afternoon (Apr. 25) at LMCU Ballpark. In a twinbill hosted at the home of the West Michigan Whitecaps, the Saints dropped the opening game 4-0 before rallying to earn a 6-5 walkoff victory in the nightcap. 
 
AQ fell in game one despite another terrific pitching performance from Travis Keys and used a two-out run-scoring single from Braden Nawrocki in game two to bring in Nick Brzezinski for the winning run. With the split, the Saints are 21-20 on the year and 4-10 in WHAC play, while Michigan-Dearborn is 8-10 overall and 8-8 in conference action.
 
On April 13 against Lawrence Tech, Keys set a new Aquinas single game record with 16 strikeouts. Somehow he repeated the feat on Sunday, notching 16 strikeouts in his seven-inning, 116-pitch outing. Keys allowed one unearned run on five hits in seven innings. His 16 strikeouts equal his two-week old school record and are one strikeout shy of the all-time conference record. 
 
The first Wolverine batter grounded out against Keys. The next eight UM-Dearborn hitters all struck out, including six swinging strikeouts in that stretch. Keys appears to be just the second AQ pitcher to strike out eight consecutive batters, tying the mark set by Ryan McGuire, who also accomplished the feat on Apr. 29, 1997 against Spring Arbor. 
 
Keys (4-2) struck out the side in the second, third, and fifth innings. In the sixth, UM-Dearborn plated an unearned run on an RBI single for the game's first run. He fanned a pair of runners in the seventh inning to tie his school record of 16 K's, but his day was finished after seven strong innings, 16 strikeouts, and only two walks.
 
Keys now has 89 strikeouts this season, the third-most in a single season by an AQ pitcher all-time. Paul Assenmacher tallied a school-record 123 strikeouts in 1981, followed by 91 K's in 1982. Keys is now third on that single-season list.
 
UM-Dearborn added three runs in the eighth for the final runs of the game. The Wolverines outhit Aquinas 7-6. Alex Strickland and Nathan Wilcox each collected two hits, with Strickland and Dane Smitz each recording a double. Mark Binkowski walked twice. Ben Snider threw two hitless innings of relief.
 
A Strickland sacrifice fly gave the Saints a 1-0 lead in the first inning of game two. UM-Dearborn did not score until the sixth inning, when the Wolverines took a 2-1 advantage, but AQ responded in the bottom of the sixth with a Michael Maher RBI single and a Strickland RBI single to regain a 3-2 edge.
 
In the top of the seventh, UM-Dearborn answered back with three runs on a pair of run-scoring singles for the 5-3 cushion. Strickland again provided a spark with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to score Smitz and bring AQ within a run at 5-4.
 
Aquinas and lefty reliever Richard Steffan quickly worked through the top of the ninth, setting the stage for the walkoff dramatics in the bottom of the frame. With pinch runner Dominic Guzman on first with two outs after a Ryan Gillings single, Alec Lockwood blooped a flyball into center field. The Wolverine centerfielder dove for the catch and appeared to come up with the ball, but it was ruled a hit by the base umpire. Guzman never stopped running and slide into home plate for the game-tying run, making it 5-5.
 
Brzezinski pinch ran for Lockwood and immediately stole second base. After Smitz was intentionally walked to set up a force out, Nawrocki hit a sharp single through the right side of the infield and Brzezinski came around third and scored standing up for the game-winning run.
 
Strickland finished 2-for-3 with three RBI and Smitz went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Binkowski again walked twice in the game two win.

Michael Casterline earned a no-decision, but threw 5.1 innings and allowed two runs on three hits, while striking out seven. Bruce Buurstra worked a hitless eighth inning and Steffan moved to 3-2 with the win after retiring the side in the ninth on just nine pitches.
 
AQ heads to Lima, Ohio on Monday (Apr. 26) to take on UNOH at 1:00 p.m. in a WHAC doubleheader.
 
Print Friendly Version