UPLAND, Ind. – The Spring Arbor University baseball team moved its winning streak to five with a pair of victories over Crossroads League foe Taylor University on Monday, defeating the Trojans 3-1 in the opener and 4-3 in game two.
In game one, junior Spencer Goebel out-dueled TU ace Josh DeGraaf to propel the Cougars to the win. It was the third straight complete game for the right-hander, who tied his season-high with six strikeouts over seven innings of work.
Senior Tyler Baker broke the deadlock with a two-run single in the third inning, but Taylor (14-9, 2-4 Crossroads League) pushed a run across in the home half of the fifth to cut the deficit in half.
The Cougars capitalized on two Trojan miscues in the sixth, however, to extend their lead back to two. After reaching on an error, senior JP Maracani came around to score on a single by junior Jonathan Newman.
In the bottom of the sixth, the first two Trojans reached base bringing the go-ahead run to the plate, but Goebel would work his way out of the jam en route to earning his second win of the season.
Baker, Mitchel Patterson and Chris Wegrzyn collected two hits apiece in the game while Christian Davis recorded the lone extra base hit, a double in the fourth inning.
The Cougars got the bats going early in the nightcap, scoring two runs on three hits in the first inning. After a leadoff single from Wegrzyn, Maracani doubled to right-center field to plate the game's first run. Senior Nic Johnston followed with a base hit up the middle to bring around Maracani. Taylor answered, though, in the third with a two-run home run to even the score.
The team's remained deadlocked at 2-2 until the top of the sixth when Maracani belted his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to left to put the Cougars on top for good.
The Trojans climbed back within one after a solo homer in the seventh, but junior Heath Sullivan would enter the game and nail down his fifth save of the year.
Maracani finished the game 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBI's while Wegrzyn and Johnston also added two hits apiece.
Patterson improved his record to 3-1 this season after tossing 5.1 solid innings, allowing just two runs on four hits while fanning six. Freshman Sam Memmelaar worked 1.1 innings out of the bullpen, surrendering one run on one hit with one strikeout.
Spring Arbor (12-5, 5-1 Crossroads League) will wrap up its series with Taylor on Tuesday, Mar. 31 at 1 p.m.
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