In the first weekend of the northern portion of the 2015 schedule for the Aurora University Spartan baseball team, the Spartans traveled to Jacksonville, Illinois and Lenz Field for a three-game series with Alma College. AU would win two of three from Alma on the weekend and improve their record to 9-3 overall.

Game One
Aurora 4  Alma 1

AU fell behind with Alma scoring a run in the top of the first inning on two hits off AU starter Colin Hart. The Spartan offense responded immediately in the bottom half of the inning, scoring three times on four hits including the Spartans first home run of the season, a solo shot from Dillon Popovich. Jeff Gersch led off the inning with a walk and scored on a single from Oymaian who was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double. After the Popovich homer, Nick Turner singled, went to third on a Michael Chervin single and scored on a wild pitch.

Both teams were limited on offense until AU gave Hart an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Pinch hitter Ryan Rybakowski led off with a single and was moved around to third. With Rybakowski on third and Turner on first, the Spartans executed a double steal for the fourth run of the game. Hart held on in the ninth for the win, his second of the season.

The win improved the Spartans to 8-2 on the season.

Game Two
Alma 3  Aurora 2

In another low scoring pitchers duel, the Spartans again jumped out early, scoring twice in the top of the first inning. Gersch led off with a single and after twowild pitches moved him to third, he scored on an Oymaian single. Oymaian stole second and scored when the Alma right fielder dropped a pop up with two outs.

Alma would get to AU starter Cody Love in the bottom of the second. The Scots scored three runs to take the lead with three hits including two doubles and one walk.

After Alma took the 3-2 lead after two innings, neither team put together much offense with AU turning to sophomore Brent Bergeson for the final three innings on the mound.

With the loss in game two, AU was 8-3 on the season with the series rubber game on Saturday.

Game Three
Aurora 6  Alma 4

After AU starting pitcher Kyle Manske worked out of some small trouble in the top of the first inning, the Spartan bats went to work. Gersch led off with a single, Turner walked and Oymaian singled to load the bases for Popovich. Popovich struck out but Chervin picked him up with a two run single to score Gersch and Turner for a 2-0 lead.

A quick one-two-three inning from Manske got the AU bats back to work quickly in the second. Walks to Rybakowski and Gersch brought up Turner with one out. At that time the Alma defense turned shaky as Turner and later Chervin reached on errors and those two errors led to three unearned AU runs for a 5-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth, Alma got on the board, scoring three times off Manske on four hits. AU sophomore Aron Okamoto came on in relief in the sixth inning and he went on to throw three innings, allowing one unearned run and struck out two.

AU added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, once again being aided by two Alma errors. With two outs, Turner reached on an error and he later scored on a throwing error for the Spartans sixth run.

Senior right-hander Henry Erickson came on in the ninth for the save opportunity and in what can be a closers world, he made it interesting. Erickson hit the lead off batter, then allowed a hit before striking out the next two Alma hitters. With two outs, he walked the next batter to load the bases before getting a final fly out to left to end the game for his second save of the season.

With the series win, AU is now 9-3 overall on the season. Next action for the Spartan baseball team comes on Tuesday, March 17 when they travel to North Park University. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. in Chicago, Illinois.