Grand Rapids, Mich. – The Saints and the Golden Eagles clashed once again at DeWitt Field this afternoon (Apr. 17). Aquinas swept Cornerstone last Tuesday (Apr. 9) and were looking to extend its current win streak of six games. AQ won the first contest by a score of 5-1 to increase its win streak to seven games. However, Cornerstone came back in game two while staving off a late comeback attempt from AQ to pick up its lone win of the season against the Saints.

Aquinas improved to 3-1 this season against the Golden Eagles and holds an 8-3 record against Cornerstone over the past 11 meetings. The Saints are now 20-20 on the year with a 12-10 conference record.

Game 1: Aquinas 5, Cornerstone 1 (7 Innings)

Ethan Bowen started the game with a pair of strikeouts before AQ got the bats going in the bottom of the frame. Ramsey Bousseau and Mark Binkowski walked to put two runners on with just one out. Grant Martin flew out, but Nathan Wilcox singled to score the first run of the contest.

Bowen struck out two more in the second inning as the game transitioned into a pitching duel. The Golden Eagles finally found an equalizer in the top of the fourth with two singles and an error. CU proceeded to load up the bases with two outs and Mason Hill received the call from the bullpen to get out of the jam. He forced a flyout to right field to prevent any more damage.

The game continued to fly by with neither team able to generate offense until the bottom of the sixth. AQ put two runners on for JD Gillies to hit home with a double to take the lead back. Chase Ingersoll hit a double of his own to score another run and Luke LaCross hit him home with a single. In the blink of an eye, the Saints now held a 5-1 advantage.

Hill finished his outing with two more strikeouts in the seventh to wrap up the game. Hill earned his second win of the season while Bowen and Hill allowed just three hits over the entire game.

Game 2: Cornerstone 5, Aquinas 3

The Golden Eagles took the lead for the first time today in the top of the second with a two-RBI double. Aquinas looked to be in position to instantly respond in the bottom of the second, loading up the bases with no outs. However, a foul out and a groundball double play ended a strong scoring opportunity.

The second inning would be AQ's last good scoring opportunity for quite some time. The Saints went hitless until the eighth inning while Cornerstone added on one run in the fifth and two in the eighth.

Wilcox broke up the hitless streak with a single and Gillies walked to put a couple of runners on, but a strikeout ended the inning with AQ down by four.

Aquinas retired the side in the top of the ninth inning but still had a lot of work to do if they wanted to come back. The Saints loaded up the bases with two outs, bringing the tying run up to the plate. Wilcox ripped a single to score two runs and make Ryan Gillings the winning run at the dish. Unfortunately, Gillings popped out to first to end the rally.

By the Numbers

Once again, AQ outhit Cornerstone by a margin of 16-11. Aquinas also generated 13 punchouts to CU's six.

Wilcox led the team in both hits (4) and RBIs (3) to increase his season totals to 34 hits and 19 RBIs.

Nicolas Verdugo, Bousseau, LaCross, and Ingersoll all finished the doubleheader with two hits. Bousseau increased his team-high hit total to 47 while Verdugo is just behind him at 43.

Up Next

Aquinas has an important weekend ahead of itself with four games against Indiana Tech. The Saints will play two games on Saturday (Apr. 20) and two games on Sunday (Apr. 21). The doubleheader will begin at 1:00 p.m. on both days.