SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – Following its doubleheader sweep over Grace College on Friday, the Spring Arbor University baseball team earned the series win with an 11-2 victory over the Lancers in game one on Saturday at Burbridge Field.
Senior JP Maracani recorded a season-high six RBIs and junior Mitchel Patterson tossed his third complete game of the season to lead the way for the Cougars.
Maracani put SAU on top early with a two-RBI double in the bottom of the first inning, and eventually came around to score on a base hit by junior Jonathan Newman.
Spring Arbor would add another run in the second inning on a Tyler Baker RBI single, but the Lancers would answer with a run in the third and in the fifth to close the gap to two.
Still clinging to a two-run lead in the sixth inning, the Cougars broke the game open with seven runs, highlighted by a Maracani grand slam.
Patterson improved to 5-1 with seven solid innings of work, allowing just one earned run on five hits while striking out five batters.
Maracani, Baker and Newman finished with two hits apiece while senior Chris Wegrzyn scored three times.
In game two, Grace (12-24, 5-16 Crossroads League) rallied back from a 7-1 deficit to avoid the four-game sweep. The Cougars jumped on the Lancers early, scoring seven runs in the first four innings. However, SAU saw its lead slip away after surrendering an eight-run fifth inning to the visitors.
Spring Arbor threatened in the seventh, putting runners on second and third with only one out, but was unable to cash in on the opportunity.
Wegrzyn went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and a run scored. Maracani picked up two more hits in the game, as well as two RBIs.
Up next, Spring Arbor (24-10, 17-5 Crossroads League), who currently sits in third-place in the Crossroads League standings, will travel to Mount Vernon, Ohio on Tuesday, Apr. 21 for a pair of crucial games against league-leading No. 24 Mount Vernon Nazarene University (27-7, 16-2 Crossroads League).
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