The Aquinas baseball team was swept in a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon (Mar. 9) by Columbia International in Columbia, South Carolina. The Saints matched up against the Rams, who were receiving votes in the top-25 preseason poll, and fell by the scores 19-11 and 9-2. AQ now has a record of 6-11 on the season.

GAME 1: Columbia Int. 19, Aquinas 11

CIU scored the first 10 runs of the game through the first three innings in the high scoring affair. Seven runs crossed the plate in the first, followed by one run in the second, and two more in the third. Grant Martin started on the hill for AQ and took the loss by battling his way through those three innings. Martin allowed 10 runs on eight hits and four walks, while striking out four.

The Saints came back to score six runs in the fourth inning to get back into the game. A Nathan Hughes single to start the inning, then a walk by Jake Paganelli and a hit by pitch for Lorenzo Cupri eventually loaded the bases with two outs. The first run scored on a wild pitch, followed by an error on CIU that plated two runs and allowed Joseph Kelley to reach base. After Mark Binkowski walked, Braden Brown launched his first home run of the season over the fence to make the score 10-6.

The Rams had a response in the bottom of the inning by scoring four runs on a single, a groundout, and then a double. However, AQ had another big inning in the fifth but cutting the deficit down to three runs. Nathan Wilcox and Ryan Gillings opened the inning with back-to-back singles. After CIU got on out, Kelley shot a double out to left field to bring around Wilcox and Sean Wing (pinch runner) for a couple RBI. Binkowski followed that with a base knock of his own to plate Kelley. Conor Gausselin singled to put two men on base for Hughes who delivered with a two run double to center field.

It seemed like whenever the Saints started to gain momentum, CIU had an answer as they also scored five runs in the fifth. Caden Gregory began the fourth inning and ended up pitching an inning and a third, while giving with nine runs (seven earned) on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts. Riki Yokoyama relieved Gregory with an out in the fifth and put out the fire by throwing one and a third innings of scoreless baseball with only one hit allowed. 

Those would be the final runs scored of the game as Jordan Gapinski also came in from the bullpen to get the last out of the sixth inning on a strikeout. Hughes had his eighth multi-hit game of the season, while Brown drove in three runs with Hughes and Kelley collecting two RBI.

GAME 2: Columbia Int. 9, Aquinas 2

While it was not as high scoring, CIU ran out in front of AQ in game two by scoring eight runs in the third inning and adding their ninth run in the fourth. After facing the minimum through the first two innings, Tyler Zomerlei was handed the loss after not being able to record an out in the third. 

Zomerlei surrendered seven runs (five earned) on two hits, two walks, three hit by pitches, and an error. Josh Avink came in from the pen to only allow one more run in the third inning. Overall, Avink pitched three innings and gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits and four walks, while striking out a pair.

The Saints scored a run each in the fifth and seventh innings. Martin smacked his first home run of the season to get AQ on the board in the fifth. Anthony Arnold then scored on a fielder's choice in the seventh for the second run.

Nathan Esch turned in a scoreless sixth inning on the hill for Aquinas by sending all three Rams hitters down in order by way of a strikeout.

Due to incoming weather, the four-game series against South Carolina-Beaufort has been moved up to begin tomorrow at 4:00 PM with a doubleheader in Hardeeville, South Carolina.