CRESTWOOD, Ill. – The final Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference games of the season for the Roosevelt University baseball team featured the Lakers hosting Saint Xavier in a pivotal battle for positioning within the CCAC standings amidst a wondrous 86-degree day at Ozinga Field on Tuesday, April 27, and the results were as beautiful as the weather with Roosevelt taking two from the Cougars.
In the opener, Andrew Rodriguez (SR/Oak Forest, Ill.) and Tyler Suchy (JR/Oak Forest, Ill.) provided the pop while Augie Schlaffer (JR/Homewood, Ill.) and Tom Jager (SR/Oak Forest, Ill.) provided a 1-2 punch on the mound to lead the Lakers to a huge 7-3 victory.
The finale found the Lakers continuing their offensive momentum, and a stellar relief showing by Matt Donahue (JR/Palos Heights, Ill.) helped Roosevelt complete the twinbill sweep with a 6-5 result that extended Roosevelt's winning streak to five games.
Roosevelt greeted SXU game one starter Nick Crowe with a three-run first, as leadoff man Daniel Gutierrez (SO/New Lenox, Ill.) ignited the offense with a triple and came home on Suchy's RBI groundout. Kerry Zeese (SO/Granger, Ind.) and Chris Broccolino (SR/Schaumburg, Ill.) delivered run-scoring singles.
The Lakers tacked on two more in the third thanks to Rodriguez's two-run shot, putting RU up 5-0.
Starter Schlaffer stymied Saint Xavier with five shutout innings before the Cougars battled back with a three-run sixth. With SXU still threatening and only one away, Jager was summoned from the bullpen and got two big strikeouts to limit the damage and keep Roosevelt's advantage at two.
Suchy extended the lead in the bottom half of the sixth with his two-out, two-run homer, and Jager closed the door in the seventh.
Game two started strong for the Lakers with a two-run opening inning. Gutierrez manufactured the game's first run by a straight steal of home, showing speedy chutzpah that got the Lakers' dugout roaring for more. Roosevelt did indeed generate more, as Andrew Olszewski (JR/Beecher, Ill.) stole third and came home on a Rodriguez single for another big hit by the Lakers' first baseman.
The Cougars chipped away and took the lead with a two-run third, but Roosevelt tied the game in the bottom of that same frame on a Broccolino RBI base hit that allowed Joshua Stivers (JR/Long Grove, Iowa) to slide home.
Roosevelt put up another two-spot in the fourth, as Olszewski drove in the go-ahead run on a single, and two batters later it was Stivers plating another run with a sac fly.
Bryan Fox (SO/Homer Glen, Ill.) added to the advantage in the fifth with a ground-rule double that scored Rodriguez with a key run.
SXU struck twice in the seventh, but Donahue, who started the game as the DH, was summoned and helped the Lakers get out of the frame with a one-run lead intact. Donahue evaded more trouble after a double led off the eighth and eventually saw the tying run just 90 feet away on a wild pitch, but the veteran right-hander struck out three consecutive hitters for a clutch performance.
Donahue kept the Cougars off the scoreboard with a 1-2-3 ninth, earning the save and preserving both a win and the Lakers' chances of moving up in the CCAC standings to improve their seeding for next week's postseason contests.
GAME 1 DETAILS
Score: Saint Xavier 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 5 1
Roosevelt 3 0 2 0 0 2 X 7 10 0
W: Schlaffer L: Crowe S: Jager
Records: Roosevelt 16-15, 15-14 CCAC // Saint Xavier 26-21, 15-11 CCAC
Location: Ozinga Field | Crestwood, Ill.
THE NUMBERS
NEWS & NOTES
- Schlaffer improved to 3-1 on the year
- Schlaffer is now tied with teammate Jordan Mikolajewski (SR/Plainfield, Ill.) for second for fewest earned runs allowed in the league with 15
- Tuesday marked Jager's first save as a Laker and sixth career save
- Rodriguez hit his team-leading fourth home run, ranking among the CCAC's top 10 sluggers
- Suchy's three RBI upped his total to 33 on the season
- The win evened the season series between the two Chicago teams
GAME 2 DETAILS
Score: Saint Xavier 0 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 5 5 1
Roosevelt 2 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 X 6 9 3
W: Mathias L: Papierski S: Donahue
Records: Roosevelt 17-15, 16-14 CCAC // Saint Xavier 26-22, 15-12 CCAC
Location: Ozinga Field | Crestwood, Ill.
THE NUMBERS
- Daniel Gutierrez went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, including a steal of home plate
- Andrew Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored
- Joshua Stivers drove in a run, scored a run and drew a pair of walks
- Andrew Olszewski drove in a run, scored a run, stole a base and made the biggest catch of the game in the seventh
- Matt Donahue scored a run as the designated hitter and came on in relief to throw 2.2 scoreless innings in recording his second save, striking out six batters in the process
- Starter TJ Murray (JR/Joliet, Ill.) tossed four innings, allowing just two earned runs and fanning three
- Noah Mathias (SO/LaPorte, Ind.) threw 2.1 innings of relief for the win
NEWS & NOTES
- Olszewski made a crucial catch in center, slamming into the wall but eventually getting up to walk back to the dugout, to end the Cougars' threat in the seventh
- Donahue's six strikeouts in a single appearance were a career high
- Donahue recorded his second save of the season and fourth of his career
- The Lakers have won five in a row
- Roosevelt clinched the season series against Saint Xavier, 2-1
- Roosevelt overcame three errors
NEXT UP
Roosevelt concludes the 2021 regular season with a non-conference weekend set against Lewis, beginning this Saturday, May 1 at 1 p.m. at Ozinga Field. Live coverage is available on the Lakers Sports Network.
