Posted: Apr 28, 2012
ADRIAN, Mich. -- Joe Williams (Westland, Mich./Livonia Churchill) smacked a pinch-hit, walk-off RBI single in the 13th inning to lift the Siena Heights baseball team to a 3-2 victory over Aquinas at the SHU Baseball Field on Saturday. With the victory, SHU is one win from clinching a berth in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament.
Josh White (Brooklyn, Mich./Columbia Central) and Brett Howard (Sylvania, Ohio/Saint Francis de Sales) opened the decisive frame with singles and moved up one base each on a flyout by Dan Abbott (Plymouth, Mich./Lutheran Westland). Williams then sent a ground ball through the middle of the infield, plating White with the winning run.
Siena Heights relief pitcher Travis Mielcarek (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) worked four shutout innings, allowing two hits while striking out one batter, to earn the win. Starter Corey Alexander (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer) tossed the first nine innings, giving up two runs on 10 hits while compiling six strikeouts and one walk.
Aquinas took its only lead in the fourth, producing a pair of runs on RBI singles by Ryan Grigonis and Allen Manyen.
SHU tied the contest at 2-all in the fifth. Cory Lehman (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) scored the first run, reaching base on a walk and then scoring when a White single was misplayed for a two-base error. Howard followed with a sacrifice fly to knock in White.
Kaleb Ort was Aquinas' starting pitcher and did not allow an earned run in his nine innings of duty, finishing with eight strikeouts and five walks. Reliever Brendan Penny pitched three innings, eventually suffering the loss.
For the SHU offense, White had two hits and two runs while Kyle Benschoter (Hudson, Mich./Hudson) doubled. The hosts ended up with nine hits, but starting with Howard's sac fly, did go 18 straight batters without a baserunner.
Grigonis and Manyen had three hits apiece for the visitors while Austin King and Brent Steele finished with two each. The quartet, which figured to be Aquinas' 5-8 hitters, combined to go 10-for-22 while the rest of the team was 2-for-26.
Siena Heights (26-22, 12-13) and Aquinas (23-26, 11-14) were originally supposed to play two games, but a three-hour rain delay backed up first-pitch until 4 p.m., thus preventing a second game from being played and turning the weekend's four-game series into a best-of-3 to determine the fifth seed in next week's WHAC Tournament.
The teams will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Sunday; SHU needs one win while Aquinas needs two to qualify for the WHAC Tournament, which will be hosted by Siena Heights on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Josh White (Brooklyn, Mich./Columbia Central) and Brett Howard (Sylvania, Ohio/Saint Francis de Sales) opened the decisive frame with singles and moved up one base each on a flyout by Dan Abbott (Plymouth, Mich./Lutheran Westland). Williams then sent a ground ball through the middle of the infield, plating White with the winning run.
Siena Heights relief pitcher Travis Mielcarek (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) worked four shutout innings, allowing two hits while striking out one batter, to earn the win. Starter Corey Alexander (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer) tossed the first nine innings, giving up two runs on 10 hits while compiling six strikeouts and one walk.
Aquinas took its only lead in the fourth, producing a pair of runs on RBI singles by Ryan Grigonis and Allen Manyen.
SHU tied the contest at 2-all in the fifth. Cory Lehman (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) scored the first run, reaching base on a walk and then scoring when a White single was misplayed for a two-base error. Howard followed with a sacrifice fly to knock in White.
Kaleb Ort was Aquinas' starting pitcher and did not allow an earned run in his nine innings of duty, finishing with eight strikeouts and five walks. Reliever Brendan Penny pitched three innings, eventually suffering the loss.
For the SHU offense, White had two hits and two runs while Kyle Benschoter (Hudson, Mich./Hudson) doubled. The hosts ended up with nine hits, but starting with Howard's sac fly, did go 18 straight batters without a baserunner.
Grigonis and Manyen had three hits apiece for the visitors while Austin King and Brent Steele finished with two each. The quartet, which figured to be Aquinas' 5-8 hitters, combined to go 10-for-22 while the rest of the team was 2-for-26.
Siena Heights (26-22, 12-13) and Aquinas (23-26, 11-14) were originally supposed to play two games, but a three-hour rain delay backed up first-pitch until 4 p.m., thus preventing a second game from being played and turning the weekend's four-game series into a best-of-3 to determine the fifth seed in next week's WHAC Tournament.
The teams will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Sunday; SHU needs one win while Aquinas needs two to qualify for the WHAC Tournament, which will be hosted by Siena Heights on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
