Westfield, Ind. – The Aquinas baseball team started off its season this weekend (Feb. 18-19) with a four-game series against the Lancers of Grace College. Aquinas dropped a close game to start the season on Saturday but responded with a comeback victory in extra innings to even the series 1-1. Both teams, once again, split the doubleheader on Sunday after Aquinas won the first game but couldn't quite complete the comeback in the second.

Aquinas moves to 2-2 on the season following the four-game series. Grace took its first two losses of the season this weekend and drop to 5-2 on the season.

Game 1: Grace College 9, Aquinas 7 (7 Innings)
 
Aquinas started the new season off swinging with a leadoff Luke Lacross single and then No. 2 hitter Dane Smitz bringing him home with a triple. Smitz, however, was left stranded at third base and Grace answered back with four runs in the bottom half.
 
The Saints scored three runs on three hits in the second inning to draw even again at 4-4. Smitz picked up a second RBI with a bases-loaded walk and Mark Binkowski singled through the right side to bring in the other two runs. AQ left runners on second and third base.
 
A two-out RBI single by Sam Newkirk in the bottom of the second inning gave the Lancers the lead back, 5-4.
 
Aquinas loaded the bases again in the third inning and was issued another free pass, tying the game again following a Lacross walk.
 
But, once again in the ensuing half inning, Grace countered to take the lead back. This time emphatically with a two-run home run by John Joyce. Mason Meyer tacked on a solo home run the next inning to put the Lancers up 8-5 through four frames.
 
Lacross drove in two more runs for AQ with a single back up the middle in the fifth. He went 2-for-3, with two walks and three RBIs in the contest.
 
Joyce got one of those runs back with his second home run to leadoff the bottom of the fifth inning.
 
The Saints went down in order in the sixth and seventh innings to drop its season opener, 9-7. Tyler Zomerlei was given the loss on the mound, but all three AQ pitchers gave up two or more earned runs.
 
Both teams finished with 11 hits. AQ left nine runners on base. 
 
Game 2: Aquinas 10, Grace College 9 (10 Innings)
 
Consistency was key in the second game. Aquinas scored in eight of the 10 innings to outlast the Lancers, who quickly jumped out to a 7-1 lead after the second inning.
 
The Saints clawed back with five straight runs between the third and fifth innings, including an RBI triple by Braden Brown and a two-run home run by designated hitter Jake Paganelli — AQ's first blast of the season.
 
A third bases loaded walk in two games allowed Aquinas to get within a run at 7-6, but couldn't get any more, as they left the bases loaded.
 
Austin Carr homered to left field in the bottom of the fifth to give Grace a two-run cushion at 8-6. Aquinas answered with an RBI sacrifice fly by Brown and an RBI double by Ryan Gillings, 8-8.
 
Trailing 9-8 in the top of the ninth, JD Gillies delivered an RBI single to right field to keep the game going and force extra innings.
 
After AQ pitcher Mason Hill struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth, Smitz leadoff of the 10th with a triple to right field. Binkowksi brought him home with a clutch RBI single. The Saints ended up leaving the bases loaded again, but it didn't matter.
 
Hill struck out the side again in the bottom of the 10th inning to close out AQ's first win of the season. Hill rightfully earned the win on the mound after a flawless 3 1/3 innings of work. Eight of the 10 batters he faced went down on strikes, the other two didn't reach base either with a flyout and a groundout. A stellar debut for the 6-foot-5 junior right-handed hurler out of Grandville, Mich.
 
Aquinas scored 10 runs on 10 hits. Only Smitz and Gillings recorded multiple hits, while Gillings, Brown, and Paganelli collected multiple RBIs. AQ left 13 runners stranded on base.
 
Game 3: Aquinas 14, Grace College 9 (7 innings)
 
Calvin Tkaczyk got the start on the bump for Aquinas to kick off the third game of the series. Grace remained patient to start the game and immediately loaded the bases with no outs. Tkaczyk fought back and recorded consecutive swinging strikeouts to nearly break out of the jam. However, Tkaczyk walked one more batter to give the Lancers an early 1-0 lead. A groundout on the next at-bat brought the Saints up to the plate.

Binkowski got the scoring party started in the bottom of the first period with a double to left field. Grant Martin came up to the plate in the next at-bat and smoked the ball over the wall for AQ's first homer of the game. Paganelli followed suit and ripped a home run of his own to give the Saints back-to-back home runs.

Gillings made the home run streak a three-peat after smoking another one out of the park. A line out and a fly out would end the first inning, but the damage had already been done. The Saints were out in front 4-1 early in the game.

The second period started with another walk for GC which prompted a pitching change for AQ. Caden Gregory trotted out to the mound to take over pitching duties.

A series of hits and a walk gave Grace a rally in the top of the second to tie the game at four. Aquinas responded with a rally of its own and reclaimed a three-point advantage. Singles from Chase Ingersoll and Smitz, a double from Martin, and a triple from Binkowski accounted for a majority of the offense. Gillings was hit by a pitch a few batters later bringing Martin across the plate.

Gregory pitched much better in the top of the third inning, giving up no runs and picking up a backward "K."

The trio of Martin, Smitz, and Gillings continued to roll in the third period as they each picked up RBI. The Saints scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a commanding 11-4 advantage.

Evan Douglass took over pitching duties at the top of the fourth. In his first collegiate appearance, Douglass struck out his first two batters and forced a pop-out to the catch for a near-perfect one-two-three inning.

Aquinas kept its scoring streak alive in the bottom of the inning. A sacrifice fly from Smitz scored the Saints' 12th run of the game. On the very next at-bat, Ingersoll stole home to give AQ a 13-4 lead with just three innings left to play.

Douglass continued to deal in the fifth inning, giving up no runs. Aquinas left two runners on in the bottom of the period and its scoring streak ended in the fifth.

The Lancers finally found a way to hit Douglass in the top of the sixth, picking up a couple of hits that included a pair of doubles that scored four runs for Grace College. In the bottom of the inning, Martin picked up another RBI to give Aquinas a run back.

Sean Page came in to close out the game for the Saints and did just that. He allowed three singles and a run, but a pair of strikeouts helped give Aquinas a 14-9 victory.

The Saints tallied a whopping 17 hits during the game that included three home runs, two triples, and five doubles. Martin totaled four hits in his five at-bats, generating five runs batted in. Smitz accounted for another four RBI with a single, double, and a triple to go along with a sacrifice fly.

Game 4: Grace College 16, Aquinas 11 (9 innings)

Grace College picked up where it left off in the third game and batted through the lineup to score five runs in the top of the fifth. Three hits and a series of walks gave the Lancers a huge lead to start the game. A one-two-three bottom half of the inning put GC up to bat with a five-run advantage.

The Lancers kept their momentum rolling in the second period and, with a home run over the center field wall, increased their lead to seven to start the game. Sophomore Joey Klap took over pitching duties and did an excellent job of getting the Saints out of the inning. Despite walking two batters, he forced a strikeout, a pop-out, and a flyout to move to the home half of the inning.

Paganelli was walked to start the bottom of the second, putting a man on first with no outs. However, three consecutive outs kept the Saints scoreless after two innings of play.

The third inning followed a similar theme as Grace tacked on two more runs and the Saints recorded another three consecutive outs. Grace College held a massive 9-0 advantage after the third.

In an attempt to slow down the scoring from the Lancers, Aquinas made another pitching change at the top of the fourth inning, bringing Owen Graves onto the bump. Graves immediately recorded two outs after a pop-out and a strikeout. However, a series of pitching and defensive errors from Aquinas allowed Grace to pull together a two-out rally. GC ended its half of the inning after four more runs crossed home plate. The visiting side was now leading 13-0.

Aquinas finally got on the scoreboard in its half of the fourth. Smitz started the inning with a single to left field, followed by a Binkowski double that brought Smitz across the plate. On the ensuing at-bat, Martin ripped a triple into right field to score Binkowski. Paganelli grounded out in the subsequent at-bat but still scored Martin to give Aquinas three runs in the bottom of the inning.

Tristan Hysell took over mound responsibilities in the fifth and found success. Hysell held the Lancers scoreless in an inning for the first time this game.

Aidan Schmuckal started the bottom half of the fifth hot by shooting a double into left center. However, Grace got Schmuckal out when he attempted to extend the double into a triple. AQ wasn't able to generate too much offense following that out and the game moved to the sixth inning with the score still at 13-3.

Grace's offensive performance continued into the sixth inning with the Lancers scoring two more runs. In the bottom half of the frame, AQ got a run back after a single from Joseph Kelley drove Martin across the plate, but the Saints still trailed by 11.

In the top of the seventh, Grace scored its last run of the game after an error in the field from Aquinas, giving them a huge 16-4 advantage.

AQ manager to string some offense together in the second half of the seventh. A single from Binkowski brought a run across home plate. A few batters later, Ingersoll singled to left field and an error from the Lancers scored Martin and Binkowski to give Aquinas three runs in the inning.

The combination of Jackson Spetoskey and Zomerlei held GC scoreless through the eighth and ninth innings, but Aquinas still had a massive deficit to overcome.

The trio of Smitz, Binkowski, and Martin continued to impress in the bottom of the eighth inning. A triple from Smitz drove one run across the plate. Binkowski then made it to second and scored Smitz off of a fielding error. Martin punished the error from Grace with another home run to give Aquinas its 11th run of the game.

However, with the deficit only at five runs in the bottom of the ninth, AQ went one-two-three to end the game 16-11.

Smitz picked up another RBI with three hits in five at-bats. Binkowski had two RBI with two hits and Martin had three RBI with two hits in four at-bats.

The Saints are back in action next weekend with another four-game series. This time, the Saints are set to take on Rio Grande in Rio Grande, Ohio.