BOLIVAR, Mo. - The Lewis University baseball team swept its doubleheader at Southwest Baptist Sunday (March 20) to earn a series split with the Bearcats. The Flyers won game one, 9-6, and then had an offensive explosion and won game two 23-7.
GAME 1 TEAM RECORDS
Lewis 6-8 (1-2 GLVC) | Southwest Baptist 5-12 (2-1 GLVC)
GAME 1 SUMMARY
Lewis scored two runs in the top of the first inning after
Michael Alt (Appleton, Wis./Kimberly) singled to lead off the game, and
Thomas Fox (Norfolk, Va./Norfolk Christian) singled followed by an error on the Southwest Baptist center fielder that scored Alt.
George Bilecki (Chicago, Ill./Marist) then hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Fox and make it 2-0 Flyers.
SBU struck back with a three-run home run in the bottom of the third to take a 3-2 lead. That led to the end of the day on the mound for
Luke Brown (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North), who finished with three runs allowed on three hits and three walks in 2? innings with two strikeouts.
The Bearcats scored three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to bring its lead to 6-2, but Lewis struck back in the sixth with three of its own.
Mikey Kocen (Beach Park, Ill.) got the rally started with a double, and he later scored on
Chris McDevitt's (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita) double into the gap in left-center.
Tony Fleischauer (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Catholic) wrapped up the inning with a double that scored
Angelo Cantelo (Blue Island, Ill./Marian Catholic) and McDevitt.
Zac Maslona (Carol Stream, Ill./St. Francis) and
Jackson Bruno (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame Prep) worked a scoreless sixth inning for the Flyers, with Bruno earning the win (1-0) after Lewis scored four runs to take the lead in the top of the seventh.
Kocen brought in the tying run with a single to score
Logan Nelson (Marseillaes, Ill./Marquette-Ottawa), who had pinch run for Fox after he started the rally with a single. McDevitt then doubled down the left field line to score Bilecki, and
Cain Headrick (Custer Park, Ill./Providence Catholic) singled home both Kocen and McDevitt to make it 9-6 Flyers.
Collin Amsden (Oak Forest, Ill./Marist) then shut Southwest Baptist down in the bottom of the inning for his third save of the year.
GAME 2 TEAM RECORDS
Lewis 7-8 (2-2 GLVC) | Southwest Baptist 5-13 (2-2 GLVC)
GAME 2 SUMMARY
Both sides made it through the first inning scoreless before the Lewis offense exploded. The Flyers pushed across six runs in the second, and nine more in the third for a 15-0 lead early.
Jason Krol (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence) got things going with a leadoff double in the top of the second, later scoring on a fielder's choice by Headrick.
Patrick Keaty (South Elgin, Ill./South Elgin) later doubled to drive in Headrick before Alt doubled to bring home Fleischauer and Keaty to make it 4-0.
Fox brought Alt home with a single, and Kocen had the final RBI of the inning with a double to score Bilecki. Lewis loaded the bases with nobody out in the third before an error by the Bearcats' center fielder brought home the first two runs in the inning to make it 8-0.
Alt then hit a two-RBI single, plating Fleischauer and Keaty before Kocen had the big swing of the inning, a three-run homer that brought in Alt and Bilecki. The Flyers' lead was pushed to 15-0 when Headrick pounded the second home run of the inning, a two-run shot that scored McDevitt.
Lewis once again had the bases loaded in the top of the fourth for Krol, who knocked a single through the right side of the infield to score Alt and Fox and make it 17-0.
Southwest Baptist scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth, knocking
Ryan Manikowski (New Lenox, Ill./Providence) from the game. He finished with five runs allowed on seven hits and one walk, striking out four in 3? innings.
The Flyers added two more runs in the top of the sixth off of a solo homer by Fox and an RBI double by McDevitt that brought Kocen home to make it 19-5. After Lewis' first three batters of the seventh all walked, Fox smashed a grand slam to make it 23 runs on the day for the Flyers.
The Bearcats added a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh, but couldn't get closer than that.
Christopher Seropian (Chicago, Ill.) kept it at 23-7, and earned the win after his 3? innings in relief, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks with three punchouts.
UP NEXT
Lewis baseball stays on the road with a series at UMSL next weekend. First pitch on Friday (March 15) for the series opener will be at 2 p.m. CT.
