Grand Rapids, Mich. — Unconventional conveniently sums up what went down Monday (Mar. 20) as the Aquinas baseball team played its "home opener" at Cornerstone against the Golden Eagles. The two WHAC rivals split the doubleheader at De Witt Field, with the Saints unable to play on their snow-covered home field at the Meijer Sports Complex in Rockford.
The Golden Eagles (8-12, 1-1 WHAC) took Game 1, 8-2, but the Saints (8-10, 1-1 WHAC) narrowly hung on for a 9-8 win in the nightcap to avoid being swept.
Game 1: Cornerstone 8, Aquinas 2 (7 Innings)
The first four innings quickly went by with AQ nursing a slim 1-0 lead after
Dane Smitz put down an RBI bunt single in the third inning to score pinch runner
Jayden Timmer.
Cornerstone woke the bats up in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings with eight straight runs. Providing RBI extra-base hits were Jordan Wenzel, Daniel Freeman and JC Salinas. Lucas Vega tacked on an RBI single back up the middle in the seventh.
Three of the runs (two earned) came off AQ starter
Conor Gausselin, while the other five runs (two earned) came off reliever
Nathan Myers. Gausselin was dealt the loss on the mound.
The Saints pulled one run back in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI sacrifice fly by
Jake Paganelli.
Mark Binkowski and
Nathan Wilcox each had a pair of hits. But, the Saints were outhit 9-7 by the Golden Eagles.
The first game featured five errors — three for CU and two for AQ. The Saints left 10 runners on base in the defeat.
Game 2: Aquinas 9, Cornerstone 8
The second of the game of the doubleheader was a tale of two halves. Knotted up at 1-1 after two innings following a
Grant Martin RBI double and an AQ fielding error allowed CU to score, both teams went on scoring spurts.
The Saints stuck first with three runs in the third and fourth innings, plus two more in the sixth to grab a commanding 9-1 lead. Paganelli provided the fireworks with a three-run home run for AQ's offense in the third inning. It was his team-leading third home run of the season.
Luke Lacross, Binkowski and Martin picked up RBIs in the fourth inning. Lacross then lead off the sixth with a single, and scored after an errant pick off throw and a wild pitch while he was standing on third base. Aquinas scored its last run in the inning and of the game off a CU error in the infield.
Cornerstone regrouped and rallied with three runs in the seventh. With the bases loaded, CU drew a walk, got hit by a pitch and flew out for an RBI sacrifice fly to cut AQ's lead to 9-4.
The Golden Eagles weren't done, smashing back-to-back home runs in the ninth to get within a run, 9-8. Jake Collins hit the first blast to left center to bring in three runs. George Cutler delivered an encore with a solo blast to dead center over the 400-foot marker.
AQ closer
Tyler Zomerlei composed himself after giving up the second home run and got the final two outs of the game to pick up his first save of the season. Saints starting pitcher
Mason Hill was credited with the win after going six innings, allowing one run (zero earned) off three hits.
Kasy Shadduck,
Evan Douglass and
Kaleb Mitchelson all pitched in relief for the Saints.
Aquinas finished with nine runs off 12 hits. Lacross and Paganelli each collected three hits, with Paganelli going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Next up, the Saints will go on the road to face conference leaders Concordia (17-1, 2-0 WHAC) tomorrow (Mar. 21). The doubleheader was scheduled to be played in Ann Arbor, Mich., but due to unplayable field conditions will now be played at Siena Heights in Adrian, Mich.
