Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 The Aurora University Spartans took on the Beloit College Buccaneers on day three in Central Florida and swept the doubleheader from the Midwest for winning game one 8-1 and taking game two 5-3.
GAME ONE
Aurora 8, Beloit 1
An all around game was the story in game one of the doubleheader against Beloit as the AU offense
pounded out 12 hits and scored eight runs while the pitching combination of sophomore
Brad Warnecke and freshman
Henry Erickson allowed one run and one hit to shut down the Buccaneers.
The Spartans bats were clicking from the first-pitch as
Josh Davidson led off with a double but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.
Tim Mackey followed immediately with a double of his own and scored right away when
Ryan Adams singled to right.
Warnecke did create some uneasy moments for himself though as he hit three Buccaneers and walked two more but he worked out of the jams including one in the bottom of the first inning.
Meanwhile the AU bats kept creating cushion for him when they exploded for four runs in the third inning with the big blow coming from junior
Cory Walden who hit a three-run home run, the first for him and the Spartans on the year. Davidson scored the Spartans other run in the inning after he led off with a double and scored on a
In the fourth inning, Davidson scored the games sixth run, reaching on a bunt single and scoring on a single by Adams.
Beloit finally got a run across against Warnecke in the bottom of the sixth inning. A lead-off single, the first hit of the game for the Bucs, came around to score without a ball leaving the infield.
In the top of the seventh inning, AU added two insurance runs when VanAsdlen led off with a single and scored on Walden's second home run of the game, giving him five runs batted in for the game.
A scoreless bottom of the seventh for Erickson gave AU the 8-1 win.
GAME TWO
Aurora 5, Beloit 3
Game two of the doubleheader turned into a tighter contest than game one. The AU offense scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning to give AU starter Steve Sitterly an early lead to work work.
As he had done in game one of the day,
Cory Walden had the big hit of the inning with a two run home run giving him his third of the day and seventh run batted in.
While Sitterly was making quick work of the Buccaneers, striking out six of the first nine batters to face him, the AU offense kept churning out runs. Mackey had a lead-off double in the fourth and after being moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt, VanAsdlen singled to drive him in for a 4-0 AU lead.
Beloit got two runs in the top of the fourth on Sitterly with two doubles and a single before the Spartan pitcher struck out the last two hitters of the inning to stop the Buc rally.
Beloit got another run in the fifth inning to cut the AU lead to 4-3 but the Spartan offense answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning when Mackey doubled again and scored on a single by Adams.
Junior relief pitcher
Chris Skiniotes came on in relief of Sitterly in the seventh inning and after getting three groundouts earned his second save of the season and giving Sitterly his first win.
With the sweep AU improved to 4-1 on the first-half of the spring trip and after an off day the Spartans return to action
on Wednesday, March 7 when they take on Bridgewater College in Florida at 11 a.m. (est).
