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| Benedictine University, ranked 15th in the nation, opened the home and conference schedule with a pair of wins, 9-2 and 10-0 (7 innings) over Lakeland, setting the tone in the first inning of both affairs. Benedictine athletics photo |
Concordia Texas tallied a pair of shutouts in a doubleheader against Hardin-Simmons. Otto Franz tossed a complete game one hitter in game one, and a trio of pitcher combined for a two-hit, 10 strikeout no hitter in game two at Gardner-Boggs Field on Saturday. Franz tossed a perfect game through the first 3.1 innings, and did not allow a base-hit until the final inning of the game. Julian Swift put the Tornados on the board first with a RBI single to the shortstop to score Brandon Goynes in the third. After that score, both teams would produce a pitcher's duel with stellar throws and web gems. Neither team would put another runner in scoring position as Franz & CTX would surge through for the 1-0 win. Starting pitcher Rowdy Hadley came out on fire as he tossed a perfect game through 4.1 innings of action. Relievers Ryan Bailey & Mason Brandenberger kept up the momentum as they only allowed one more hit throughout the rest of the game.
Three pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout and New York University ended its Spring Break trip in Florida with a 1-0 win over Purchase College on Saturday in Auburndale. Sean Bolin picked up the win with seven shutout innings in which he allowed only two hits and struck out two. He was followed by Aidan Dolinsky, who pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning with a strikeout, and Ansel Balmer who pitched the ninth and picked up the save. He also struck out a batter while allowing one hit. NYU (13-3) scored the game's lone run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Nate Pallotta was hit by a pitch with one out. Richard Beggy followed with a double, advancing Pallotta to third. Then, Alex VanLandingham stroked a sacrifice fly to center field giving the Violets the only run they would need. Alex Doskoez went the distance for Purchase (6-7) and held the Violets to four hits and the one earned run.
Howard Payne was able to claim the conference-series versus LeTourneau winning game one 16-8 and game two 6-4 on Saturday at Don Shepard Park. The Howard Payne Yellow Jackets rallied from down 8-5 in the fifth inning to beat LeTourneau 16-8 in game one on Saturday. Bryson Adare (2-1) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Howard Payne (7-12, 3-7). The right-hander went 1.2 innings, giving up three runs, all of them earned, on two hits, allowing two walks and striking out one. Brandon Taylor also made an impact on the mound for the Yellow Jackets, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings while allowing no hits. In game two, the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets took a 2-0 lead in the second inning and never trailed from there on the way to a 6-4 victory over the LeTourneau Yellow Jackets on Saturday. Brendan Read (2-1) got the win for Howard Payne (8-12, 4-7). The right-hander went 5.1 shutout innings, giving up two hits, no walks and striking out four. Nicholas Richards also pitched well, going one shutout inning without allowing a hit.
Case Western Reserve opened a four-game series against the University of Chicago by sweeping a doubleheader against the Maroons on Saturday, winning the early game 2-1 and claiming a 7-4 win in the late contest at Nobby's Ballpark in Cleveland. The doubleheader was originally scheduled for two nine-innings games, but overnight snow forced a delay as the team prepared the field. With the games delayed two hours, the teams shifted the schedule to a pair of seven-inning games instead. Graduate student Jack Anderson went three-for-six at the plate with a triple, a stolen base, and a run over the two games and picked up a save in the second game after catching the first 13 innings of the doubleheader. Junior outfielder Logan Andreyko was also three-for-six on Saturday with a double and three runs scored.
No. 1 Endicott defeated Western New England, 12-2 (7 inn.), in conference action on Saturday. The Gulls put up crooked numbers in the third (6 runs) and fifth (5 runs) innings to come away with the victory via the conference's mercy rule. Brendan O'Neil (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) and Danny MacDougall (Taunton, Mass.) both mashed a pair of homers to highlight the offense. O'Neil launched a two-run homer in the third (4-1) and a solo shot in the fifth (8-1), while MacDougall belted a solo bomb in the fourth (7-1) and a three-run jack later in the fifth (11-1). The five-run fifth inning also featured a solo shot by TJ Liponis (Scarborough, Maine), his second round-tripper of the season. O'Neil finished the contest going 4-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI. MacDougall was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and four RBI, while Liponis went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI.
In the Titans' home opener, Illinois Wesleyan squared up against Wabash College. IWU took on the Little Giants in a doubleheader and came out 1-1 on the day, moving to 10-5 on the season, while Wabash sits at 7-7. IWU won game one 6-5 and dropped the second 8-2. IWU took an early lead and in the top of the seventh Wabash started their comeback bid. They finished the inning with four to cut the lead to two. Wabash scored one more run to end the game, 6-5, in the top of the ninth. On the bump, sophomore Will Davidsmeier added a win to his record which sits at 2-0. Davidsmeier pitched for five innings and recorded seven strikeouts, only allowing two runs and scattering three hits. In the second game, Wabash took an early lead to start off the game scoring the first run. Neither team scored again until the fourth inning where WC took six more to grow its lead 7-0. The deficit was too much to overcome, as the Titans ultimately fell, 8-2.
UW-La Crosse earned a win in game one, 8-4, of a doubleheader versus Washington University in St. Louis before game two was suspended in the top of the ninth inning on Saturday night with UW-la Crosse leading 16-10. The opener entered the fourth inning scoreless when the Bears scored two runs on one hit. The Eagles scored six runs on four hits in the sixth inning. Mac Born drove in two runs with a single while Nate Witte's bases loaded clearing single to give the Eagles a 6-2 lead. UWL added two runs (8-2) in the seventh inning as Brady Burrill drove in a run with a sacrifice fly while a second run scored on a throwing error on the play. Shane Pellegrino drove in two runs for the Bears in the eighth inning to cut WashU's deficit to 8-4 after eight innings. Game two was suspended in the top of the ninth inning and will be resumed on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. After the completion of game two, game three of the series will be played.
Brevard (11-7) improved to 4-0 in the USA South Conference with a 13-12 marathon victory over Pfeiffer (7-9) on Saturday night at Joe Ferebee Field in Miseneimer, North Carolina. The two sides combined for 25 runs, 28 hits, and six errors in the exciting matchup, with the Tornados holding on to a one-run lead to take their fifth-straight victory overall over Pfeiffer. Matthew Evans (Sv 2) was called on to earn his second save in as many games. The sophomore RHP from Yulee, Florida got the first batter he faced out, but the Falcons put the tying and winning runs on base with a HBP and a single. An infield fly was called on a shallow fly ball to left field, and a Falcon runner was doubled up advancing to third, ending the wild series opener in bizarre fashion as BC escaped with the one-run win, 13-12. Cale Oehler had a career day at the plate, going 5-for-5 with three RBI, two runs scored, and a two-run homer. Morton went 3-for-5 with a team-best four runs scored and Vasquez also totaled three hits with three RBI. Pridmore logged three RBI, and Jennings capped BC's stellar offensive outing with his first collegiate home run. Pfeiffer was paced by Wilson Lohrer, who racked up three hits that included two doubles.
Aurora started Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader against Wisconsin Lutheran College in the 2024 home opener at Jim Schmid Field. Behind strong starting pitching performances from both Justin Zimmerman and Jack Fisher, as well as an impressive day offensively by Joe Lukanic, the #10 ranked Spartans took both games by a score of 2-0 (7 innings) and 12-8 (8 innings). In the opener AU starter Justin Zimmerman gave up two hits in the first innings but did not allow another hit until the top half of the seventh inning. Zimmerman picked up nine strikeouts in the seven inning complete game outing. Lukancic was the batting star in game two with a four hit day that included two doubles and three RBIs. Fisher finished with six strikeouts in the nightcap and only one earned run in six innings of work.
In a SAA doubleheader, the Vikings split with formerly ranked Birmingham-Southern, defeating them in game one 4-0 and falling in game two 5-0. Led by Charles Stephenson on the mound across six innings, game one was all Berry. With only three hits and three strikeouts, Stephenson played a big roll in the win as he captured his fourth on the mound this season. Joey Garcia going 3-5 at the plate with three RBI's benefited the Vikings offensively as the pitching staff held it down defensively. Roles switched in game two as the Panthers shutout Berry. With only three hits total in game two, the Vikings struggled at the plate, while the Josh Leerssen (W, 5-1) pitcher held out all seven innings in his win.
George Fox split the first two games of their road series against the Puget Sound Loggers, losing the first in yet another final inning heartbreak, 5-4, but taking the second convincingly, 8-5. Another Bruin sacrifice fly, this time from Jeremy Sangalang, brought in Shane McClendon in the top of the eighth. Fox couldn't drive in the go-ahead run, leaving two runners stranded, but narrowed the gap to 5-4 headed into the final inning. Fox needed one run to tie in the top of the ninth, and quickly put runners on the corners after several errors from Puget Sound. Down two outs, Jared Miller singled to drive Stone home, but he was forced to return to third after umpire interference was ruled on the play. The Bruins struck out swinging to drop yet another game one in heartbreaking fashion, 5-4. Fox's momentum with the bat in the nightcap only grew as the game progressed. The Loggers scored one more run on an error during the top of the eighth, but were unable to mount any real comeback. Fox's pitching staff held Puget's offense to just four hits in the last five innings on their way to the victory, 8-5. Jeremy Sangalang led the Bruins offensively, hitting 4-8 on the day with two runs and two RBIs.
A day after taking the series opener in a 15-inning marathon, Buena Vista completed the sweep of Simpson College on Saturday by taking game one of the doubleheader, 11-8, before closing out with a 14-0 (7 inning) victory in the finale. The Beavers pounded out 32 hits on the day and took advantage of 11 walks. BVU held a 6-2 advantage through six innings before the Storm began a comeback in the seventh. They got within 6-5 and still had the bases loaded with just one out before reliever Brayden Polzien threw a runner out at home on a comebacker and then got a fly out to left to end any further damage. Jordan Mathewson gave the Beavers some much needed breathing room in the home half when he cleared the bases with a 3-run triple to make it a 9-5 lead. Simpson, however, fought back in the eighth by scoring three times and getting as close as 9-8, but BVU came right back in the bottom of the inning to score a pair of big insurance runs for the game's final score. Buena Vista made quick work of Simpson in the finale after scoring five runs in each of the first two innings en route to a quick 10-0 advantage.
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| The 13th-ranked Johns Hopkins Blue Jays capped its 10-day, nine-game spring break trip to Florida with a 7-6 walk-off win over Augustana Saturday morning. Alex Shane's run-scoring double in the bottom of the ninth was the difference in the one-run victory, which improves the Blue Jays' record to 11-6 overall and 6-3 in Florida. Augustana, which had won seven straight, slips to 12-4. Johns Hopkins athletics photo |
No. 19 Kalamazoo split a doubleheader with Middlebury by taking game one 5-2 and falling 15-3 in seven innings for game two to continue the Florida Trip on Saturday. The Hornets now have a record of 11-2 on the season, and the Panthers stand at 7-6 in 2024. In the opener, the Panthers tied the game back up in the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run. The Hornets regained the lead with three runs in the sixth inning, beginning with Alex Fenkell bouncing into a fielder's choice and collecting an RBI. Lukas Bolton laid down a bunt single in the next at-bat for another RBI, and then Cam Kelly brought in the third run on an RBI single. The second game was planned to go nine innings, but Middlebury won 15-3 after seven innings. The Panthers scored two runs in the first, four in the second, three in the third, one in the fifth, and five in the seventh.
Lewis & Clark earned their first two Northwest Conference wins of the season on Saturday afternoon at Jerry Gatto Field, where it defeated visiting Linfield, 7-5 and 3-2. Lewis & Clark's offense was led by juniors Justin Cavagnaro, Will Heron and Brennen Davis, who all hit two-run home runs on Saturday. Freshmen Michael Aikawa and Bret Potter and sophomore Joaquin Sandoval contributed with an RBI each. On the mound, sophomore Nate Kerr and freshman Owen Eisen both earned their secnd wins of the season. In game one, Kerr pitched three innings in relief and struck out a career-high five batters, with no hits and no runs. Eisen threw a career-high eight innings in game two, with five strikeouts. Senior Anthony Clerici recorded his 20th career save, and Davis notched his first save of the season. Clerici is ranked third in all of Division III among active players with his 20 career saves. Willamette University's Bradley Joyner is second with 23 saves. Lewis & Clark is on a season-high five-game winning streak and is 8-6 heading into Sunday's final game of its 15-game homestand.
No. 6 Denison played at home for the first time during the 2024 season and earned a doubleheader sweep over Calvin University on Saturday. In the end, the Big Red picked up wins of 9-5 and 12-2 against the Knights. In the opener, Denison led 8-0 to start after scoring three runs in the bottom of the second, four in the bottom of the third and one in the fourth. In the top of the seventh the Calvin bats came alive with four straight hits to start the inning, all before a two-out, two-run single to cut Denison's lead to just 8-5. Fortunately, George Viebrock righted the ship to pick up the two-inning save while the Big Red tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on a leadoff single through the left side by Blozy, a sacrifice bunt by Carson Herman and an RBI-single through the right side by Wilson. In the nightcap, the game was close until a leadoff triple to left center field by Eric Colaco, his second triple of the day, to kick off a five-run, six-hit inning for Denison. Peter Lemke (4-0) pitched six innings allowing six hits, two runs, one walk and five strikeouts. Jaden Cole and Nate Dinges pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings before Denison finished the game one inning early with a three-run bottom of the eighth inning ending with an RBI-single by Erik Sudngren.
Senior second baseman Nolan Gardner delivered a go-ahead, two-run single to spark Hope to a 5-1 victory at Millikin on Saturday in Game 1 of a doubleheader. Millikin edged the Flying Dutchmen, 5-4, in Game 2 on a ninth-inning, walk off single from Kyle Gibson and took the weekend, three-game series. The Big Blue took Friday's opener, 11-8. In Game 1, the Flying Dutchmen answered a Tommy Shaw sixth-inning solo homer with a four-run rally in the top of the seventh inning where Hope sent eight batters to the plate. Hope winning pitcher Mason Belmore pitched 7.1 innings to raise his record to 3-1. The right-hander struck out three, did not walk a batter and allowed nine hits. Reliever Ian Sanders squashed an eighth-inning Millikin threat and earned his first save by recording the game's final five outs. Millikin won game two in walk off finish. Andy Niebrugge opened the ninth with a triple. Pitch runner Danny Lack scored the winning run on a single from Kyle Gibson. The game was a back-and-forth contest with Hope scoring single runs in the first, third, sixth and eighth. Millikin scored a single run in the first, fifth, sixth, seventh and the game winner in the ninth.
Emory broke out the aluminum Saturday afternoon, smacking three home runs and added four doubles en route to the 14-2, mercy rule win in the series finale against the College of Wooster at Chappell Park in Atlanta. Junior Blake Dincman put a capper on his torrid week at the plate by going 3-for-4 with a home run and two doubles while driving in three in the win. During the Eagles' 3-0 week, Dincman went 8-for-10 with eight RBI, hitting four doubles and one home run. Classmates Jack Halloran and Matthew Sicoli also provided the power on Saturday as the middle of the order threats went back-to-back in the fifth frame. After seeing his 13-game hitting streak snapped on Thursday, Halloran returned with a big game as he went 2-for-4 and hit his 19th home run in his career, moving into a tie for second place all-time in Emory Baseball history.
Senior Keegan Kuha and sophomore Nate Droste combined to throw a four-hitter to help Olivet beat Ohio Wesleyan University, 5-1, in the first game of a weekend series at Littick Field. The Comets put together a two-out rally in the first inning. Senior Gabriel Kirck sparked the uprising with a solo home run deep over the right-center field fence. Sophomore Braden Abbott hit a double to the same gap and came around to score on freshman Austin Alflen's single. Olivet added another run in the top of the third inning. Senior Matthew Fennell led off with a walk, advanced to second base on a failed pickoff attempt by the pitcher and scored on sophomore Will Myrick's single. The Battling Bishops loaded the bases but managed to only score one unearned run in the fifth inning. The Comets got that run and one more back in their half of the sixth. Kuha threw the first six innings to earn the win. He gave up the unearned run on three hits and five walks, while striking out four. Droste picked-up the save with three scoreless innings of relief. He was aided by his defense, which turned double plays in the seventh and eighth innings. At the plate, Abbott hit three doubles to become the sixth Olivet player since 2002 to accomplish that feat. Fennell and Myrick each had two hits.
On Saturday afternoon, Oberlin opened their spring break trip with a 10-3 victory over the Asbury Eagles. The Yeomen jumped on the Eagles with four first-inning runs, using four hits and two Asbury errors to grab the early advantage. Brady Groves led off the game with his fourth triple of the year and would trot home on a sacrifice fly from Ethan Hurwitz. Nik Mezzanotte who finished 5-for-5 with two RBIs, plated David Curtin after he doubled, and two more defensive miscues resulted in two more Oberlin runs coming across. Senior right-hander Jay Aghanya (1-0) pitched free and easy with a substantial lead in hand as he worked his way through six innings, allowing just two runs (one earned) on three hits, three walks, and five strikeouts. After the Eagles scratched out a single tally in the bottom of the third and would then cut the lead in half with another run in the sixth, the Yeomen bats reawakened in the top of the eighth inning as they scored six runs in the inning to leave little doubt in the eventual outcome. Freshman right-hander Micah Rodriguez tossed the final three innings to lock down his first-career save while racking up four punchouts. Oberlin out-hit Asbury 12-5, with Baxt (2) and Curtin (2) joining Mezzanotte with multi-hit performances.
Mary Hardin-Baylor split a Saturday doubleheader with No. 5 East Texas Baptist, winning the first game 2-0 before falling 3-0 in game two. The player of the opener was Rahul Champaneri. Champaneri earned the win on the mound, throwing six innings with four hits and one run allowed. Champaneri struck out three in the outing with just one walk while Sayers Collins took his first loss of the season, throwing 5.1 innings with one hit allowed. "That was my favorite win in five years here," Champaneri said. "It meant a lot to me." In another pitching duel for game two, ETBU came out on top as Landry Powell and Peyton Miller combined to shut down UMBH recording 14 strikeouts. Both pitchers had seven strikeouts as Powell went 4.1 innings giving up just one hit and Miller 4.2 innings and three hits. ETBU had seven hits as three players each produced two hits a piece in Jacob Evangelista, Dylan Burnaman, and Wagner. Burnaman and Brett Wagner each had a RBI.
MSOE traveled down to the suburbs of Chicago in their to competing in the Midwest. The Raiders dropped game one 3-2 to Wheaton (Ill.) on a walk-off, but came back in game two, 9-2, to split with the Thunder. After a quiet first two innings, Brandon Beauchamp put the first run on the scoreboard for either side, singling up the middle to bring Christian Bosque home to score. Tyler Gronert got the nod for MSOE (6-5, 0-0 NACC), going seven innings and striking out eleven batters, but allowed the first run of the game in the sixth as Wheaton (6-8, 0-0 CCIW) to tie it up. In the bottom of the ninth, the Thunder put the pressure on having the bases load, as they delivered to walk it off 2-1. The Raiders jumped out to an earlier lead than in game one as Sam Meidenbauer ran out the double play the Thunder tried to turn to bring Blake Hall in, followed by Chris Barnes bringing him in to score to make it 2-0 early. The Raiders then broke it open in the third inning, highlighted by Kyle Labedz singling through the right side for a two RBI single as the Red & White had a 7-0 lead. Caden Morton started in game two and went the complete seven innings, striking out seven Thunder batters and only allowed three hits. The Thunder cut into their deficit in the bottom half of the third and sixth, but the Raiders match in the fifth with Labedz and Collin Truitt bringing runs in as the Raiders closed things out for a 9-2 victory.
The Hanover Panthers (10-6 overall) split a tilt at Transylvania on Saturday afternoon as part of their Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference opener. Hanover claimed game one 10-4 before surrendering a dramatic game two 3-2. Senior Matthew Alter claimed his third win of the season as he pitched six complete with seven strikeouts. Junior Chris Hautman pitched relief, adding four strikeouts over three complete innings. Unlike the opener, Hanover pounced first using a one run fourth inning for the 1-0 lead. However, the Pioneers responded in the bottom half of the inning before adding two runs in the fifth inning to push the difference to 3-1. The Panthers got one run back in the eighth inning and despite a ninth inning threat at the plate, Transylvania was able to retire the side and secure the HCAC split.