Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 The Spartan baseball team played host to the Eagles of Edgewood College in an early season but important Northern Athletics Conference match-up. AU swept the Eagles in the doubleheader winning both games 12-2 with game one going eight innings and game two seven innings.
GAME ONE
Aurora 12 Edgewood 2 (8 innings)
Edgewood took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on AU and freshman pitcher
Eric Palmer. Palmer allowed a lead-off single and then threw a pick-off attempt away advancing the Eagle runner to second. A second single in the inning, moved Walker to third and with two outs, Mike Selvaggi singled to score Walker.
The Spartan offense took a few innings to figure out Edgewood starting pitcher Casey Geissberger while Palmer settled in, allowing only two hits over the next five innings.
In the fourth, AU tied the game 1-1 with senior
Ryan Adams reaching on a walk and eventually scoring on a double by junior Mike Foley.
The Spartan bats continued to awaken in the fifth inning as they scored four more runs to give Palmer a
5-1 lead. Senior
Bobby Wilson got the inning started with a double and scored on a single by senior
Tim Mackey. After Adams and senior
Brett Van Asdlen both walked to load the bases, junior
Cory Walden drove in Mackey with a sacrifice fly-out. Foley and Adams combined once again with Foley singling to score Adams this time. The fourth run of the inning was scored by VanAsdlen on a single by senior catcher
Ryan Payne.
Edgewood got back on the scoreboard in the seventh inning against Palmer. With one-out, the Eagles pieed together three singles with the third single by Walker also resulting in an error that allowed Thome to score. Palmer then got a fly-out to center which initially looked like a sacrifice fly to score the third Eagle run of the game. But Creekmore was called out for leaving early, ending the inning.
After AU left two runners on in the seventh inning, Palmer started the eighth for the Spartans but after
allowing a lead-off single, junior
Tom Ozlanski came on in relief. He got three straight ground-outs to bring the AU bats to the plate in the eighth inning.
With one out, Mackey got the Spartan offense going with a beautiful bunt hit. The single by Mackey started what would be five straight AU hits. Singles by Adams and Van Asdlen were followed by a two-run double by Walden. After an Eagle pitching change, Foley hit a high fly ball to right field that the 40 mph wind gusts carried well over the fence for a three-run home run and a 10-2 AU lead. After the second out of the inning, freshman
Tanner Oymaian got the bats going again with a single and was followed by Wilson's second hit of the game. Oymaian scored on a single by senior
Josh Davidson who was hitting for the second time in the inning. The game was then ended with the 10-run mercy rule when Mackey reached and scored Wilson on an error by the Eagle third baseman.
Palmer earned the win pitching seven innings, striking out three and allowing one earned run and nine hits.
GAME TWO
Aurora 12 Edgewood 2 (7 innings)
In the second game of the day, AU jumped out to an early lead on the visitors. Davidson reached on an infield single and after two infield ground-outs he came around to score with the run batted in going to Adams.
Spartan starting pitcher Steve Sitterly allowed the Eagles a hit in each of the first two innings but managed to wiggle out of any danger.
The AU offense continued to give Sitterly run support in the second inning. A lead-off double by Walden was followed by a single from Foley. Junior catcher
Ryan McMahon then homered to right field giving AU a 4-0 lead.
The Eagles were able to get to Sitterly in the top of the fifth inning with two runs and cut the lead to 4-2. Three straight singles loaded the bases to start the inning. The the Eagles used back-to-back sacrifice flys to push across two runs.
AU got the two runs back in the sixth inning with VanAsdlen reaching on a lead-off single and scoring on a two-run home run by Walden.
The Spartans put game two to an early end in the seventh inning just as they did in the eighth inning of game one. Leading 6-2 going into the inning, the Spartans scored six runs while the Eagles used four pitchers in the inning to stop the on-slaught by the Spartans.
AU got four hits, including two doubles, one by Walden (two rbi's) and one by Oymaian (two rbi's). Oymaian came around to score the game ending run on a single by Wilson down the right field line.
Sitterly improved to 3-1 on the season, pitching six innings, allowing eight hits, two earned runs and struck out two.
AU is now 18-4 overall and lead the NAC with a 7-1 record. Next action for the Spartan baseball team comes on Wednesday,
April 11 when they travel to University of Chicago. Game time is set for 3 p.m. in Chicago, Ill.
