The Aurora University baseball team hosted the midweek Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference doubleheader at Jim Schmid Field on Wednesday against the visiting Stars of Dominican University. AU won game one in wild fashion, trailing 4-1 with two outs in the seventh inning before finding a way to tie and win in the eighth. Spartan starter
CJ Cazares then tossed a complete game shutout in game two as AU won 2-0 to complete the sweep.
Game One Score:Â #17 Aurora University 5, Dominican University 4 - 8 innings
Game Two Score: #11 Aurora University 2, Dominican University 0
Record: Aurora University 25-8 overall and 15-5Â NACC; Dominican University 13-20 overall and 5-13 NACC
Location:Â Jim Schmid Field at the Stuart Sports Complex in Montgomery, Illinois
Game One:
- The Spartans got off to a fast start with a lead-off double from
Nico Bermeo and he scored on a single from
Nik Panico for a 1-0 lead.
- After two quick outs in the third for AU starter
Adrian Ruiz, trouble followed after a walk. Two singles and a double followed and AU trailed 3-1.
- Dominican added another run in the fourth and
Sam Harvey came on in relief of Ruiz.
- The game remained 4-1 going to the bottom of the seventh and after a quick two outs, chaos began in the Spartans favor.
-
Nick Czarnecki kept the game alive with a single and then moved to third on a double from Bermeo.
- Following a pitching change,
Joe Lukancic followed with an infield single and he moved to second on a throwing error which scored both Czarnecki and Bermeo.
- After Lukancic moved to third on a wild pitch, the game appeared to be over as
Derek Angelo lifted a high fly ball to center but the ball went into the sun and fell safely to tie the game.Â
- As the game went to extra innings, the Spartans got a one-out walk from
Brenden Naylor and
Alex Panico came on to pinch run.
- After a second out had been recorded, Panico would move to third base when the Dominican pitcher threw a pick off attempt down the line.
- On the very next pitch, the Star pitcher did not come set and a balk was called which allowed Panico to score the winning run on a balk-off.
Game Two:
- AU took another early lead in game two when
Logan Riley put one in play that allowed
Derek Angelo to score off a Dominican error in the first inning.
- The Spartans saw another chance to add one in the second with
Sean Rivera in scoring position, but were unable to get him across.
- The Stars did not see a runner in scoring position until the top of the third, as AU starter
CJ Cazares fixed the jam and did not allow any runs to score.
-
Nick Czarnecki made it 2-0 in favor of the Spartans in the bottom of the sixth when he drove in
Nik Panico with an RBI single.
- Cazares sat the Stars down in order in the seventh to finish the four-hit shutout.

Game One:
HITTING
HITS: Nico Bermeo,
Joe Lukancic and
Derek Angelo (2)
DOUBLE: Nico Bermeo and
Derek Angelo (2)
RUNS:Â
Nico Bermeo (2),
Alex Panico,
Joe Lukancic and
Nick Czarnecki (1)
RUNS BATTED IN: Joe Lukancic,
Derek Angelo and
Nik Panico (1)
PITCHING:
APPEARANCES (innings): Adrian Ruiz (4.1) and
Sam Harvey (3.2)
DECISIONS:Â
Sam Harvey (win, 4-0)
STRIKEOUTS:Â
Adrian Ruiz (4) and
Sam Harvey (3)
Game Two:
HITTING
HITS:Â
Derek Angelo and
Nick Czarnecki (1)
DOUBLE:Â
Derek Angelo (1)
RUNS:Â
Derek Angelo and
Nik Panico (1)
RUNS BATTED IN:Â
Nick Czarnecki (1)
PITCHING:
APPEARANCES (innings): CJ Carzares (7.0)
DECISIONS: CJ Cazares (win 4-2)
STRIKEOUTS:Â
CJ Cazares (4)
Next action for the Spartan baseball team comes on Thursday, April 25 when they travel to Illinois Wesleyan University and play a non-conference neutral site contest with Webster University. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. in Bloomington, Illinois.