Madonna Completes Weekend Sweep with 5-3 and 3-0 Victories
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
KENTWOOD, Mich. - Davenport missed out on a great opportunity on their home field this weekend as the #18 Crusaders of Madonna completed the weekend sweep with 5-3 and 3-0 victories on Sunday. The two losses come on the heels of two losses Saturday as DU falls to 12-18 on the year and 3-5 in the WHAC.
After the pitching hurt Davenport yesterday in the 17-5 and 7-2 losses, it was the bats that turned silent today producing only three runs on 13 hits.
In game one, Madonna jumped out to a quick 2-0 in the top of the first and followed it up with two more in the 3rd for a 4-0 lead.
After the Crusaders posted another run in the 5th to lead 5-0, Davenport finally got on the board in the bottom half when James Folske (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.) reached base via error. Mitch Pike (Rockford, Mich.) pinch-ran for Folske and was joined on base by Matt Collins (Akron, Ohio) who singled down the left-field line.
Matt McNeil (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) then hit a double to the left field gap bringing home both runs and DU was right back in the game at 5-2.
The pitching held strong to give DU a chance down the stretch but the Panthers could push only one more run across the plate in the bottom of the 7th eventually falling 5-3. Brandon Romero (Hart, Mich.) took the loss on the mound for DU falling to 4-2 on the year.
Game two was a pitchers dual between Davenport's Jarrett Luyk (Hudsonville, Mich.) and Madonna's Tom Hansen. Luyk allowed a single run in the top of the 2nd which would be the only scoring for either team until the 7th inning.
Luyk then struggled a bit in the 7th as he could not finish the inning giving up two more runs (only one earned) for a final line of 6.2 IP - 6 hits and 9 strikeouts.
The bats of Davenport could not come up with the big hit in any of the innings as they finished with 6 hits and no runs with Madonna closing out the game with a two-pitcher shutout.
Davenport is now just 12-18 on the year and falls to 3-5 in the WHAC. The Panthers will host Grace College (Ind.) on Tuesday before taking on Indiana Tech this weekend in a home and home series beginning in Fort Wayne on Saturday.
