Box Score  / Box Score (pdf)

Nashville, Tenn. – Lewis University pitcher Eann Cox (Erie, Ill./Erie) set the tone for the Flyer baseball team as he scattered two hits over seven scoreless innings as the squad collected a 4-1 victory over Ohio Dominican on Sunday (Feb. 23) in the Alan Smith Classic at Trevecca Nazarene's Jackson Field.
 
The Flyers improve to 2-1 on the year while the Panthers fall to 1-2 on the season.
 
As Cox dueled on the mound, the Flyers got to Ohio Dominican's starter Alex Borgan in the fourth as senior Alex Slaby (Davenport, Iowa/Davenport West) started the rally with a single through the right side, before junior Mark Kornacker (Lemont, Ill./Lemont) pushed him to second on a sacrifice bunt. Slaby crossed the plate on a double by senior Jake Murray (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) before he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.
 
Lewis hitters jumped on the new Ohio Dominican pitcher in the top of the ninth as sophomore Joel Rotkvich (Crestwood, Ill./St. Laurence) singled, then reached second on a wild pitch before taking third as Slaby reached base on a Panther miscue. Kornacker scored Rotkvich with a hit to the shortstop, as Slaby took third on an Ohio Dominican throwing error.  Senior Ben Albano (West Dundee, Ill./Jacobs) doubled in Slaby and Kornacker to give the Fyers a 4-0 lead.
 
The Panthers broke up the shutout in the bottom of the frame, connecting two deep outfield hits and a hit batter to score the run. Ohio Dominican threatened to extend the inning as they loaded the bases on a single that found a hole on the left side of the infield, but the Flyers were able to get out of the jam with a force out at the plate.

"Eann threw really well against a very good Ohio Dominican line-up," Lewis head baseball coach Tim McDonough said. "We had talked about working on adding more runs late.
 
"We executed bunts and got a big double by Ben in the top of the ninth and with ODU threatening in the bottom of the inning, it proved that we needed those extra runs."
 
Cox picked up his first win of the season for the Flyers, striking out seven, walking one and giving up two hits over seven innings. Junior Dylan Cysewski (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) fanned one in 0.2 of an inning of work before junior Phil Warner (South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North) tossed the final 1.1 innings, giving up one earned run on three hits and two strikeouts.
 
Ohio Dominican's Borgan (0-1) took the loss, giving up one run on four hits, while striking out six and walking one. Ryan Colegate pitched the ninth, giving up three runs on three hits while striking out one.
 
Lewis is next in action on Saturday (March 1) against Ashland University in Winter Haven, Fla., with first pitch is set for 6 PM ET.