CRESTWOOD – Roosevelt's seniors showed up in a big way on Senior Day despite Wayne State defeating the Lakers 21-11 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup Friday at Ozinga Field.
Nine of the 11 seniors who were honored Friday afternoon entered the game for the Lakers with right-handers Aramis Salmeron and Anthony Sorrentino scheduled to throw later this weekend. Jack Hoh went 2 for 4 with a pair of home runs and four RBI while Nolan Boettcher picked up an RBI double in his only plate appearance.
The Warriors – who are receiving votes in this week's coaches' poll – got on the board in the first inning with back-to-back hits to start the game before Brennan Cohen settled down. The senior struck out the next batter he faced after the run scored then induced a weak pop fly to end the inning.
Roosevelt (9-28, 0-13 GLIAC) immediately responded as Ian Bagaconza ripped an 0-2 pitch over the left-field fence to tie the game. It was the first leadoff home run for the Lakers in nearly two years and Bagaconza's third homer of the season.
The inning nearly ended when CJ Chalk sent a high pop fly into the middle of the infield, but a rare flub from the Warriors allowed Chalk to reach base. Hoh then stepped to the plate and made Wayne State pay for the mistake with a no-doubt three-run homer to give the Lakers a 4-1 lead.
However, the wheels fell off for the Lakers in the second as Wayne State sent 13 batters to the plate and all 13 scored before Roosevelt recorded a single out. It was senior Sam Skirvin who finally navigated the Lakers out of the inning, and the Quincy native ate up a huge chunk of the rest of the game.
Skirvin ended up throwing more than 90 pitches in 5.1 innings of work, holding the Warriors off the scoreboard in the third, fourth and fifth innings. He escaped the bases loaded in the third and stranded runners on second and third in the fourth inning. The needed reprieve allowed Roosevelt to begin to mount a comeback and threaten to overcome the colossal inning.
Hoh led off the fourth with a drive off the advertising board beyond the left centerfield fence to cut the deficit to nine. The Lakers added three more runs in the fifth inning with Ruete again making the Warriors pay for an error.
Bagaconza began the inning with an awkward single to the pitcher as the Warriors starter slipped while trying to field the grounder off the mound. Ruete then sent a towering foul ball near the Lakers dugout, but the Wayne State first baseman again dropped the out. On the next pitch, Ruete drove a double into the gap to score Bagaconza from first.
Alejandro Munoz hit a sharp infield single that the Warriors third baseman could only dive to keep in the infield. Chalk then sent what should have been a routine single into the outfield, but the center fielder booted the scoop attempt and the ball rolled to the wall. Ruete and Munoz came around to score as Chalk advanced two bases on the error.
Wayne State added two runs in the sixth inning and four in the seventh before the Lakers rolled out the substitutions to get the seniors more playing time. Jason Kosloski came on to begin the ninth inning on the mound and struck out one of the three batters he faced. Cole Hofmann then finished the inning and retired both batters he faced.
Troy Scott walked in his pinch-hit appearance to start the ninth for the Lakers then Boettcher laced his double. Andrew Lucas drove in Boettcher with an infield single and Cooper Ohlson added an RBI groundout later in the frame.
UP NEXT: The Lakers and Warriors play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. at Ozinga Field.
