The Aquinas baseball team dropped a road doubleheader against Lawrence Tech on Tuesday afternoon (Mar. 29) in Utica, falling in a close lidlifter before the Blue Devils notched the sweep with a win in the nightcap. LTU took the opening game 2-1 before jumping to an early 6-0 lead in game two and finishing with a 10-2 victory.
 
Tuesday's results put Aquinas at 11-19 overall and 1-3 in WHAC play, while Lawrence Tech is 8-13 on the year and 2-2 in conference action.
 
GAME 1: Lawrence Tech 2, Aquinas 1
 
The teams combined for only 10 hits in the game, with each pitcher tossing a complete game in the seven-inning opener. AQ outhit the Blue Devils 6-4 and recorded two doubles and a triple in their six hits. 
 
LTU opened a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a sacrifice fly from Kellen Banaszewski. In his next at-bat in the fourth inning, Banaszewski homered to double the Blue Devils lead to 2-0.
 
The Saints cut the deficit in half in the sixth inning, as Mark Binkowski laced a one-out triple to right center field. He immediately scored on an RBI double from Dane Smitz down the left field line to make it a 2-1 game. AQ pushed the tying and go-ahead runners to second and third base, but a lineout ended the threat. 
 
Aquinas would put the tying runner on base with two outs in the seventh, but could not manage to knot the score before LTU closed the game. Zach Marshall was saddled with a tough loss, as he gave up two runs on four hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out a pair. 
 
Six Saints recorded base hits, with Smitz and Braden Nawrocki each doubling and Binkowski tallying a triple.
 
GAME 2: Lawrence Tech 10, Aquinas 2
 
Lawrence Tech opened up a big early lead, plating six runs in the first inning, the first four coming on a grand slam. The Saints were able to get two runs back in the top of the second, without the benefit of a base hit. Walks to Braden Brown and Binkowski gave AQ a pair of runners and both Saints came around to score on an LTU throwing error, making it a 6-2 game.
 
The Blue Devils added single runs in the third, fifth, sixth, and eighth innings, but only outhit Aquinas by an 8-4 total in the nightcap. Each team committed three errors in game two.
 
Nawrocki, Brown, Binkowski, and Nathan Wilcox each recorded a base hit for the Saints, with Nawrocki's double being the lone extra-base hit in game two. 
 
Mason Hill started and took the loss for AQ, allowing seven runs on only four hits in three innings. Hunter Morrison, Nathan Myers, Kyle Teachworth, Josh Avink, and Tyler Zomerlei each threw an inning of relief and combined to give up just three runs on four hits.
 
AQ is scheduled to take on Calvin in a single, nine-inning, non-conference game on the road on Wednesday. The Saints will follow up with a three-day, six-game homestand this weekend, hosting UNOH (Saturday), Indiana Tech (Sunday), and Grace Christian (Monday) at Meijer Sports Complex in Rockford.