Auburndale, Fla. – Aquinas traveled down to sunny Florida for its annual spring break trip yesterday (Mar. 7). The Saints began their trip with doubleheader action against the IU-South Bend Titans. In a pair of seven-inning games, AQ won both contests as its pitchers tallied 21 strikeouts and 0 walks over both games.

The sweep gets Aquinas back to .500 baseball with an improved record of 6-6.

Game 1: Aquinas 7, IU-South Bend 3 (7 Innings)

Aquinas set the precedent for the day in the first inning of the first game. Dawson Shearer singled and then doubles from Grant Martin and Chase Ingersoll had AQ ahead by two runs fast. On the ensuing series of at-bats, Nathan Wilcox singled, JD Gillies hit a sacrifice fly, and Mark Binkowski singled to give the Saints four runs and five hits to start the game.

The Saints kept the scoring going in the second and third innings. Another Martin double knocked in Aquinas' fifth run in the second. A couple of sacrifice plays in the third following hits from Wilcox and Nicholas Verdugo gave the Saints all seven of their runs by the third inning.

On the defensive side of the ball, Conor Gausselin pitched a gem of a game through 5.2 innings pitched. He struck out six including three strikeouts in the fifth inning and allowed just one run and no walks.

The Titans scored a handful of consolation runs, but AQ comfortably ended the game with a 7-3 victory.

Game 2: Aquinas 4, IU-South Bend 2 (7 Innings)

IUSB turned the tides to begin the second game. Zach Marshall started on the bump and the Titans managed to bring two runs across the plate on three hits. However, following the first inning, Marshall settled in and held IU-South Bend to just those two runs.

AQ cut the deficit to one run in the bottom of the third after successful small ball brought Verdugo home.

Marshall continued to deal into the fifth inning where he recorded his seventh and eighth strikeouts to keep AQ within one. Verdugo found himself on base again after a walk and Ramsey Bousseau ripped a triple into center field to tie the game up in the fifth.

Aquinas finally took the lead in the sixth frame. Singles from Martin and Wilcox put two runners on board. Jayden Timmer pinch-ran for Martin but was caught stealing when Aquinas attempted a double steal with runners on the corners. Binkowski rectified the situation with a clutch triple to put AQ ahead. Ryan Gillings hit a sacrifice fly on the subsequent at-bat to bring the lead to two runs.

Mason Hill entered the game with a save opportunity and retired the side with two strikeouts for his third save of the year. Mark Kalahar was credited with his first win of the season after pitching a scoreless inning in the sixth.

By the Numbers

In total, the Aquinas pitchers struck out 21 batters and allowed no walks over the two games.

Wilcox and Grant both recorded three hits over the two games, batting .500 and .429 respectively. Binkowski, Gillings, and Ingersoll all brought in two RBIs.

Up Next

Aquinas is on the field again today (Mar. 8) with a doubleheader against St. Francis. That series is set to begin at 3:15 p.m.