SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The Spring Arbor University baseball team opened its four-game series against Grace College with a doubleheader sweep on Friday behind a pair of outstanding pitching performances from sophomore Brody Harris and junior Spencer Goebel.
The Cougars defeated the Lancers 7-0 and 3-1 to improve their record to 22-10 overall and 15-5 in the Crossroads League. The losses dropped GC to 12-23 with a 5-15 mark in conference play.
In game one, Harris, the reigning Crossroads League Pitcher of the Week, dazzled again throwing his second consecutive complete game shutout. The southpaw surrendered only seven hits on the afternoon while fanning seven batters to earn his fifth victory of the season.
Harris got plenty of help from his offense. The Cougars grabbed an early lead after an RBI single by senior Tyler Baker in the bottom of the first inning. The Lancers held SAU scoreless over the next two frames, but the Cougars would tally three runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in the sixth.
Baker went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, including a triple, with two RBIs and two runs scored. Senior Chris Wegrzyn and junior Jonathan Newman also recorded multi-hit games.
Goebel was just as dominant on the hill in game two, tossing his sixth straight complete game. The right-hander allowed just one unearned run on six hits in seven innings of work and registered seven strikeouts.
Grace's Austin Green held the Cougar bats in check through the first four innings, but SAU was finally able to breakthrough for three runs in the fifth. Wegrzyn smacked his third hit of the day to drive in Jack Driscoll before Francisco Ondina crossed the plate on a perfectly executed squeeze play by Mitchel Patterson. JP Maracani would cap the scoring with an RBI single.
The Lancers would capitalize on an SAU error to push a run across in the sixth inning, but Goebel would work his way out of the inning and slam the door shut in the seventh to post his fourth win of the season.
Wegrzyn added three more hits in the nightcap while scoring a run and registering an RBI.
The Cougars will conclude its series with the Lancers tomorrow beginning at 1 p.m.
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