Adrian, Mich. — As the battle for postseason spots and seeding heats up, so has the Aquinas baseball team. The Saints (24-19, 14-10 WHAC) got a much-needed doubleheader sweep on Saturday (Apr. 22) at Siena Heights to keep pace in a very tight WHAC standings.
Aquinas is looking to make the conference tournament for the first time since the 2015 season.
With two wins on Saturday, the Saints currently hold the sixth and final spot with a half game advantage over Lawrence Tech (20-21, 13-10 WHAC).
Siena Heights dropped to 9-29 overall (6-20 WHAC) after losing 16-3 and 4-1 to Aquinas at home on Saturday.
Game 1: Aquinas 16, Siena Heights 3 (7 Innings)
AQ set a new season-high with 19 hits and tied the most runs they have scored in a game with a 16-3 seven-inning outpouring in the first game.
Scoring early and often, the Saints were firmly in control after a seven-run second inning to increase their lead out to 10-0.
Nathan Wilcox,
Jake Paganelli,
Chase Ingersoll,
Dawson Shearer and
Dane Smitz each provided RBI hits.
Ingersoll then added a solo home run in the third, 11-0. It was his third home run of the season.
Aquinas tacked on three more runs in the fifth and two in the sixth to be up 16-0.
Braden Brown had an RBI double,
Drew Mitchell brought in Brown with a sacrifice fly and
Jacob Totte also had a two-run double.
Siena Heights broke up the shutout bid in the sixth on a fielder's choice and an RBI double. A run-scoring single in the seventh pushed the final score to 16-3.
Smitz and Shearer both finished with three hits. Paganelli, Ingersoll and
JD Gillies joined the multi-hit club. In total, 12 different Saints recorded a hit. Five of the 19 hits went for extra bases.
Pitchers
Tyler Zomerlei,
Caden Gregory and
Kyle Teachworth held SHU to three runs on four hits. Zomerlei picked up his fifth win (5-5), pitching five innings and recording five strikeouts.
Both teams committed two errors, and AQ left more runners on base (11-8).
Game 2: Aquinas 4, Siena Heights 1
A more pitcher friendly rematch didn't see the first run scored until the bottom of the fifth inning. Siena Heights took its first lead of the doubleheader when Cole Mason connected on a solo home run.
Aquinas fought back in the seventh with two runs coming with the bases loaded. The Saints added two more runs for insurance in the ninth on a SHU error. AQ scored its four runs on eight hits.
Grant Martin singled in the fourth inning to extend his team-leading hitting streak to 14 games. He recorded the final nine outs to pick up his second save of the season. AQ starter
Mason Hill lasted six innings, allowing one run on four hits to earn the victory and improve to 6-4 on the season.
Both Martin and Hill racked up eight strikeouts each for 16 total.
The two Saint teams will meeting again this afternoon with another doubleheader tilt in Adrian, Mich. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
