Cougars Split Against Golden Eagles, Dominant Pitching Helps In Game 2

(Grand Rapids, MI) -- The Cleary Cougars baseball team took a trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan today to begin their 4-game road series against the Cornerstone University Golden Eagles. 

In Game 1: Cornerstone would get to Cougar pitcher Nate Raniszewski early on with a single and 2 run home run to open up the game 2-0. They would keep the pressure on with two base hits in a row before a single to center would score both runs giving the Golden Eagles a 4-0 lead after the 1st inning. Nate Raniszewski would settle in from there only allowing 2 hits in the final 4.1 innings he pitched in the game. Cleary's offense however would struggle to get things going as they would get shut down to just 3 hits. The first inning would prove to be all the action needed as the  Golden Eagles went on to take it by a 4-0 final over the Cougars. 

Nate Raniszewski (3-3) would suffer the loss going 5.1 innings while allowing 4 runs on 7 hits with 6 strikeouts. Aiden Mindel would make an appearance on the mound going 0.2 innings allowing 0 hits with 1 walk. 

In Game 2: Game 2 proved to be a different story for the Cougars as the bats woke up for 12 hits. Gavin Kempainen would get the game started with a walk and stolen base, then get driven in for the game's first run on a Ben Cerven single. In the 2nd inning, Caleb Buda would come up to bat with the bases loaded and hit a sacrifice fly to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead. In the 3rd inning, the Cougars would manage to pick up two more runs on a single by Albert Gonzalez and a bases-loaded walk by Gavin Kempainen. In the 4th inning, the Cougars would build on their lead with 4 more runs making it an 8-0 ballgame. Spencer Jamieson got the scoring started with an RBI double. Max Tomaszewski would pick up a single to score Spencer Jamieson, and with the bases loaded, Gavin Kempainen would walk followed by Caleb Buda being hit by a pitch. The Cougars would pick up one more run in the 5th inning when Max Tomaszewski scored Sam Browne from 3rd base on a sacrifice fly. Cornerstone would pick up their only run of the game in the 5th inning as well. One last run for the Cougars would be added on in the 8th inning when Brice Wesley scored on a sacrifice fly hit by Gavin Kempainen giving the Cougars a 10-1 lead and ultimately a WHAC Conference win. 

Will Roberts got the start for the Cougars and only allowed 1 hit in 4.0 innings of work. Jeremy Fuchs (1-1) would finish off the last 5.0 innings for the Cougars allowing 1 run on 2 hits. He would go on to pick up his first win of the season.

The Cougars now sit at 8-17 overall and 6-8 in WHAC conference play this year. They travel back to Cornerstone University tomorrow for another doubleheader to finish out the 4 game road trip. First pitch is set for 1:00 PM.