Box Score 1 | Box Score 2  / Game 1 Box Score (PDF) | Game 2 Box Score (PDF)

Rensselaer, Ind. – The No. 12 Lewis University baseball team dropped two Great Lakes Valley Conference games to Saint Joseph's, 8-5 and 4-2, on Sunday (April 28) at Gil Hodges Field.
 
The Flyers fall to 26-11 on the season and 20-9 in conference games to drop to second in the GLVC East. The Pumas move to 26-13, and take over first in the East Division with 21-9 record against GLVC opponents.
 
"Saint Joseph's did everything better than us this weekend,” Lewis head baseball coach Tim McDonough said. “In this league, you have to find ways to win and we didn't do that."
 
"We had some chances today to win both games, but we didn't get the big hits or limit them when we had to.  Saint Joseph's just kept coming and we didn't respond like we had all season long."
 
In the first game of the day, the Flyers jumped on the board in the first inning, as junior Kyle Kapka (Mount Prospect, Ill./Prospect) (Mount Prospect, Ill./Prospect) hit a two-RBI double to score junior Jake Murray (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North/Moraine Valley C.C.) and senior Michael Schroeder (Crown Point, Ind./North Newton) (Crown Point, Ind./Triton).
 
The Puma's answered in the bottom of the first with three runs on two hits. Saint Joseph's Kolin Connor hit a two-RBI triple before he crossed home plate two batters later on a single by Garrett O'Neill.
 
Lewis scored two more runs in the top of the second as sophomore Mike Barajas (Chicago, Ill./Nazareth) (Chicago, Ill./Nazareth) and juniors Drew Buddle (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) and Alex Slaby (Davenport, Iowa/Davenport West) (Davenport, Iowa/Davenport West/Blackhawk College) led off the inning with three-straight hits. Slaby scored Barajas on a bunt single for the Flyers first run of the inning.
 
Murray advanced the runners on a sacrifice bunt before Schroeder hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Buddle.
 
Saint Joseph's again answered the Flyers' runs with some of their own, getting four runs on five hits, all singles, in the bottom of the second frame. The Puma's added a single run in the fourth to increase their lead to 8-4.
 
The Flyers picked up a run in the top of the seventh when Schroeder doubled in Murray, who reached base after getting hit by a pitch.
 
Flyers senior pitcher Matt Frahm (McLean, Ill./Olympia) (McLean, Ill./Olympia) took the loss, giving up seven runs, six earned, on seven hits in 1.2 innings of work. Frahm (6-1) walked three and struck out two.
 
SJC's Brett Maus (4-4) pitched seven innings for the victory, as he gave up five runs on 10 hits and fanned seven.
 
In game two, the Pumas carried a 3-0 lead through six innings, picking up the runs on five hits and a Flyer error.
 
Lewis cut into Saint Joseph's lead in the top of the seventh, as junior Ben Albano (West Dundee, Ill./Jacobs) (West Dundee, Ill./Jacobs), Kapka and senior Brian Norwood (Medinah, Ill./Lake Park) (Medinah, Ill./Lake Park) strung together three-straight singles. The Flyers base runners put pressure on the Puma's defense as Albano scored on a throwing error on Norwood's bunt single. Kapka crossed the plate on a groundout to third by Barajas to make the score 3-2 Pumas.
 
The Pumas' added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, as Conner legged out a RBI triple.
 
Lewis' starting pitcher, junior Tom Helwich (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln Way Central) (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln Way Central) took the loss in 7.1 innings of work. Helwich (7-2) gave up four runs, three earned, on eight hits while striking out seven.
 
Saint Joseph's Jake Harper (4-2) picked up the win, after throwing nine innings. Harper allowed two runs, neither earned, on six hits while striking out six and walking two.
 
Lewis is back in action on Tuesday (April 30) at Brennan Field, when the Flyers host the Quincy Hawks for a regional doubleheader, starting at 1 PM.