FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Spring Arbor University baseball team closed out the regular season Tuesday afternoon by sweeping a doubleheader at the University of Saint Francis. The Cougars defeated USF 12-2 in the opener and 6-3 in the nightcap.

THE BASICS

SCORES: Spring Arbor 12, Saint Francis 2;

Spring Arbor 6, Saint Francis 3

LOCATION: Cougar Field | Fort Wayne, Ind.

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 21-29 (14-13 CL), Saint Francis 13-41-1 (6-21 CL)

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS

• Spring Arbor scored eight runs in the third inning – all with two outs – to cruise past Saint Francis in game one. Francisco Ondina and Tyler Reed got the rally started by drawing back-to-back two-out walks before Conner Lengerich delivered an RBI single. James Hall, Jack Driscoll and Chris Triplett also came through with run producing hits in the inning.
• Leading 9-0 in the sixth, SAU pushed three more runs across, including two on a single by Hall, to bring the 10-run mercy rule into effect.
• Hall had a career-day at the plate going 2-for-4 with four RBI. Driscoll also finished with two hits while Christian Davis drove in a pair of runs.
• Duncan Patterson was lights out on the mound tossing his fourth complete game of the season. The right-hander surrendered two runs over seven innings of work while striking out four batters.

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS

• After a back-and-forth start to game two, Spring Arbor grabbed the lead for good with two runs in the fourth inning. Alex Holley stole third base and then crossed the plate on an errant throw by the USF catcher. Two batters later, Driscoll scored on a sacrifice fly by Ondina.
• The SAU pitching staff silenced the Saint Francis offense, keeping the home team off the scoreboard for six consecutive frames.
• The Cougars added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth on RBI hits by Driscoll and Tyler Reed.
• A two-out single led to a Saint Francis run in the home half of the ninth, but Joe Romence fanned the next batter to end the threat.
• Spring Arbor pounded out 11 hits in the contest, including three by Triplett. Ondina, Reed and Holley also had a multi-hit game while Holley scored two runs and stole two bases.
• Andrew Manier earned the victory on the hill pitching five innings allowing just one earned run. Gavin Harris and Drew Weston combined to toss three scoreless innings of relief.

UP NEXT

Spring Arbor ended the regular season in fifth place in the Crossroads League standings and will travel to Mount Vernon Nazarene University (32-22, 14-13 CL) on Saturday, May 6 for the first round of the Crossroads League Tournament.

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