[Baseball] Baseball Opens Home Slate with Saturday Sweep
Doane Baseball played their first games on the home sod Saturday afternoon as they opened GPAC play against Jamestown. The Tigers' offense came out swinging, scoring runs in 11 of the 14 innings in which they stepped to the plate in a sweep of the Jimmies. Doane won the opener, 12-3, and took game two, 14-6.
Game One (Doane 12-3)
Doane took advantage of their opportunities in game one, plating 12 runs on 12 hits. Aaron Forrest (SO/Peoria, Ariz.) drew the start and ran into a little danger in the first inning following back-to-back walks but he worked out of the frame without allowing a run.
In the bottom of the 1st, the Tigers opened the game with back-to-back hits by Andy Theiler (SR/Arlington, Neb.) and Joe Osborn (SO/Hickman, Neb.). Drew Norsen (SO/Loveland, Colo.) drove in the first run of the game with a RBI-groundout. In the 2nd inning, Jamestown took the lead on a two-run home run by Triston Madison. Doane answered in the bottom of the inning with two runs of their own. Lukas White (JR/Castaic, Calif.) returned to the lineup in grand style, hitting a solo home run to tie the game. Brett Meyer (SO/Seward, Neb.) scored the go-ahead run on a Theiler single for a 3-2 lead.
Doane broke the game open in the bottom of the 3rd inning with six runs. Luke LaChance (SO/Littleton, Colo.) drove in the first run with a RBI-single. The second run crossed as White drew a bases loaded walk. Nate Mensik (SO/Pleasant Dale, Neb.) followed with a sacrifice fly and then Brett Meyer hit a three-run blast.
Following a scoreless 4th, the Tigers added two more in the 5th. White hit his second home run of the game after Justin Nevells (SO/Chugiak, Alaska) reached on a hit by pitch. Luke Shekery hit a solo home run for Jamestown in the 6th for the third run of the game and Doane added a run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI-single by LaChance.
Forrest picked up his second win of the season as he went 4.0 innings, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out eight. Hyunjun Chung (JR/Seoul, South Korea) picked up his first save for the Tigers, going 3.0 innings and allowing one run on three hits with four strikeouts.
At the plate, White was 2-for-2 with three runs scored and four RBIs. Meyer was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Theiler, Norsen, and LaChance added two hit games as well.
Game Two (Doane 14-6)
Doane scored runs in each of the first six innings of play as they broke the game open early before Jamestown rallied with four late runs against the Tiger bullpen.
In the 1st inning, Theiler opened the inning with a hit and scored on a Norsen single. LaChance followed with a bunt single to plate Tanner Black (SO/Elkhorn, Neb.) and White added a third run with a single to plate Norsen. In the 2nd inning, Doane scored four more runs led by a lead-off home run from Mensik. Jack Tillman (JR/Omaha, Neb.), Norsen, and LaChance followed with RBIs for a 7-0 lead.
Jamestown scored their first run in the top of the 3rd inning with a RBI from Tayler Cullen. Doane came back with three in the bottom of the frame for a 10-1 lead as Theiler hit a three-run blast. In the 4th, the Tigers scored two runs on a Justin Nevells home run.
The Jimmies scored a run in the 5th on a RBI-single from Trent Peters. Doane answered with a run scoring on a Norsen single in the bottom of the inning and added a run in the 6th on an RBI-groundout by Cristian Yanez (FR/Mexico City, Mexico). Jamestown plated three runs in the 7th to extend the game as Julian Sansores hit a two-run home run. Shekery was hit by a pitch in the 8th with the bases loaded for the final run of the game.
Julian Vargas (SO/Denver, Colo.) started for Doane and went 6.0 innings and allowed two runs on six hits while striking out five. Evan Mason (SO/Aurora, Colo.) threw 1.2 innings, allowing four runs on three hits with two strikeouts. Zach Schuchardt (SO/Omaha, Neb.) threw 0.1 inning, striking out one, and Jake Johnson (JR/Chandler, Ariz.) threw the final inning, striking out one.
Doane had 17 hits in the second game as Theiler and Norsen had three hits apiece while Osborn, Tillman, and LaChance had two apiece. Thieler and Norsen drove in three runs apiece with Thieler, Osborn, Black, Norsen, Nevells, and Dylan Wagner (JR/Omaha, Neb.) scoring two runs apiece.