Pitching Dominates, Leads Lakers to 5-0 Series Sweep Over Delta
The Lakers were aiming to put themselves in second place in the MCCAA Northern Conference with a strong series against the Delta College Pioneers. A top-2 finish in the conference would net the Lakers their second postseason appearence in program history.
Game one, the Lakers thumped the Pioneers 17-6 to open the series. Veteran starter Trevor Crawford threw 3 innings, allowing no earned runs to cross the plate. Crawford allowed 2 hits while striking out 5 Pioneers. Garret Hutchings finished the final 3 innings for the Lakers. Hutchings struck out 2 while allowing just 1 earned run to score. The Lakers had a hit party, with 17 hits as a team resulting in the 7 runs to score. Everyone in the lineup had a hit in the game. Some notable performances include Brady Alverson, hitting 4-5 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. Isiah Stoy went 3-3 with two doubles and 2 runs batted in. Tyler Duncan, Brendan Willadsen, and Beau Falkenhagen each had an extra base hit as a part of their multi-hit games. Brendan Mendoza also had a double.
Game two was a dominant performance from starter Dean Sommer, allowing just 1 earned run and striking out 9 batters over 5 innings in a 8-2 win. Alex Guzdziol threw 2 scoreless innings to finish the game out. The bats stayed hot with 10 hits and 8 runs scored. Matt Barger, Donovan Borg, Brendan Willadsen, and Beau Falkenhagen each had a double as a part of their multi-hit games. Barger drove in 4 of the 8 Laker runs.
Game three, the Lakers fell behind early 3-0 in the first inning. Starter Jarrett Inscho righted the ship, and went all 7 innings, striking out 3 in a 9-5 Lakers win. Barger, Alverson, Duncan, Willadsen, Falkenhagen, and Avain Rivera all had two hits in the game.
Game four was dominated yet again by a Laker starting pitcher. Alex Duley threw a one-hitter, going all 7 innings while walking one and striking out 9 Pioneer batters. The offense did their part, resulting in a 7-0 win. Donovan Borg had a double, driving in 2 runs. Isiah Stoy went 3-3 in the game, hitting two doubles with an RBI. Duncan drove in the other Laker run.
Game five was another gem, this time thrown by Brendan Martin. Martin threw 7 scoreless innings, scattering 8 hits while striking out 6. The offense was strong yet again, resulting in a 9-0 win to cap off the five game series sweep. Tyler Duncan hit a three-run home run as a part of his two hit and 4 RBI performance. Barger, Rivera, Willadsen, and Mendoza each had two hits in the game.
The Lakers five game series sweep pushed the Lakers into second place in the MCCAA Northern Conference. The Lakers will be returning to action Friday April 28th through Sunday April 30th at Alpena Community College to wrap up conference play.