Rochester Hills, Mich. – The Saints finished the regular season in style today (Apr. 27), completing the four-game sweep over the Rochester Christian Warriors. AQ scored 34 runs today and had 35 hits, outscoring RCU 60-24 over the past four games.

AQ improves to 18-14 in conference play and 26-24 overall. The Saints are currently the sixth seed heading into the WHAC tournament on Wednesday (May 1). Aquinas could move into fifth place depending on the result of the Madonna versus Concordia doubleheader.

The Cardinals are playing for the number one seed and Madonna is attempting to hold onto the fifth seed. If CUAA wins both games, AQ will move up to the number five seed.

Game 1: Aquinas 18, Rochester Christian 6 (7 Innings)

The first three innings were relatively quiet in terms of the scoreboard. AQ left the bases loaded in the top of the third before a two-run homer in the bottom of the frame gave RCU a 3-1 advantage.

Aquinas' scoring began to heat up in the fourth as hits from Mark Binkowski, Luke LaCross, Nicolas Verdugo, and Grant Martin helped drive in three runs. The Saints then scored six runs in the fifth inning and could have potentially scored many more. Five hits and four walks scored the six runs before RCU got out of the inning with the bases loaded.

AQ scored four more in the sixth thanks to hits from LaCross, Dawson Shearer, Ramsey Bousseau, Martin, and JD Gillies. The pitchers even got in on the action in the top of the seventh inning. Conor Gausselin, Tyler Zomerlei, Mason Hill, and Tristan Hysell all took an at-bat. Zomerlei scored a run with a single, Hill reached base on an error, and Hysell picked up a well-earned RBI after being hit by a pitch.

At the end of the game, the scoreboard read 18-6 in favor of AQ. The Saints outhit Rochester 19-6 and struck out a total of seven Warriors throughout the game.

Game 2: Aquinas 16, Rochester Christian 7

Rochester Christian rebounded early in the second game of the doubleheader, taking an early 4-0 lead. However, the lead didn't last long as Martin kickstarted the offense in the third with another home run, his 12th of the season and his seventh in his last seven games. Another two runs following an RCU error had the game tied up at four.

Martin gave Aquinas the lead in the fourth with an RBI single and Drew Mitchell blew the score open with a three-run homer. Rochester had no answer for AQ's offense following Mitchell's home run. AQ added on two more runs in the fifth and then three more in the sixth with RBIs coming from Aidan Schmuckal and Guasselin.

Doubles from Chase Ingersoll and Landon Mueller scored another two runs in the seventh before another Schmuckal RBI in the ninth accounted for Aquinas' 16th run of the game.

AQ outhit the Warriors once again, this time by a margin of 16-7. The Saints also had 11 punchouts to RCU's 10.

By the Numbers

As a team, Aquinas batted .412 and had 35 hits with plenty of offensive action to go around. Martin had another incredible day, leading the team with six hits and five RBIs.

LaCross had five hits with a double while Verdugo had four hits and four RBIs. Bousseau (3), Ingersoll (3), Mueller (3), Shearer (2), Mitchell (2), Gillies (2), and Schmuckal (2) all had multiple hits.

Up Next

Aquinas will play in the WHAC Tournament starting on Wednesday (May 1). Their opponent is still to be determined as the remainder of the conference plays the remainder of its games.