AUBURNDALE, Fla. – After a one-hit offensive showing in game one, Lewis baseball bounced back in game two for 15 hits to earn a split with Findlay in a non-conference doubleheader on Monday (Feb. 29) morning. Lewis dropped the opener 4-0 and won the final contest 10-3. Both were seven inning contests.
Game One – Findlay 4, Lewis 0 (PDF Box | HTML Box)The Flyers' only hit in game one came in the second inning when senior
Kurt Becker (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) singled to right field.
Findlay did the majority of their scoring by the long ball. Mark Delas hit a two-run home run with two outs in the first. Peter Yorgen recorded a solo shot in the third. Yorgen had Findlay's fourth and final RBI of the game when he knocked in Kevin Schrock on a fielder's choice in the fifth.
Mason Mayberry earned the win for Findlay, moving his record to 1-0. He went all seven innings for the complete game.
"We didn't come out with the focus and intensity that we needed in game one," Lewis head coach
Tim McDonough said. "But give Findlay and their pitcher credit, they deserved the win."
Freshman Peter Hamot allowed four runs in 4.1 innings for the loss. Sophomore
Brady Kostecki (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Catholic) threw 1.2 innings and junior
Nick Davito (Crest Hill, Ill./Lockport) one inning to finish the game. Neither surrendered a hit.
Game Two – Lewis 10, Findlay 3 (PDF Box | HTML Box)Lewis took the lead for good in game two with a single run in the fifth to go up 3-2. From there they added a run in the sixth and six more in the seventh. Senior
Joe Sparacio (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) and junior
Brandon Collins (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way North) both had a two-RBI single in the seventh.
Junior
Alex Shake (Glasford, Ill./Canton), in his first outing in a Lewis uniform, picked up the win. He allowed two unearned runs and three hits in 4.0 innings pitched. Davito pitched his second no-hit inning of the day in relief.
"The bullpen was great again today," McDonough said.
Oiler starter Alexander Theiss allowed three runs to earn the loss for Findlay. He is 0-1.
Sophomore
Neal Tyrell (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) went 4-for-5 with 3 RBI and two doubles for Lewis. Senior
Austin Mastela (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport) had three hits and two RBI.
"I was proud of the way we bounced back in game two," McDonough said. "The hitters made some adjustments and we got some clutch hitting with two outs and runners in scoring position."
Lewis was 9-of-19 with runners in scoring position in the game.
Monday's contests were Lewis' first on "Leap Day" since 2004 when the Flyers split a doubleheader with Concordia (N.Y.).
Lewis is 2-1. Findlay is 2-2. The Flyers are back in action on Tuesday (March 1) in a 10:30 a.m. ET first pitch against Mary.
