Cougars Split WHAC Opener with Cornerstone

(Grand Rapids, MI) -- The Cleary Cougars Baseball team opened up their WHAC Conference play for the first time of the season today. They traveled out to Grand Rapids, MI to take on the Cornerstone University Golden Eagles.

In Game 1: The Cougars would get on the board first in the second inning with the bases loaded. Hector Montilla scored on a wild pitch. Conner Boone later doubled to score Ryan Rose and Braylon Hughes and make it a 3-0 ballgame. Cornerstone immediately responded though as in the bottom half of the inning they would hit a 3-run home run to tie the game. The Cougars striked back in the third inning adding four more runs. Joey Parinello would hit a double that was followed by a Brodie Mackay double that scored him. With the bases loaded once again, Austin Vincent hit a single to center field that scored Brodie Mackay and Ryan Rose. Braylon Hughes finished off the scoring in the inning by scoring when the catcher threw down to third base and he took off for home. Cornerstone added one more run in the third and two more in the fourth making it a 7-6 ballgame. Ryan Rose increased the Cougar lead to 8-6 with a leadoff home run in the fifth, his first home run as a Cougar. Cornerstone's offense would come alive in the bottom half of the fifth inning scoring six runs on three hits to take a 12-7 lead. The Cougars added one more in the sixth from a Brodie Mackay double that scored Keegan Hutchinson but it would not be enough as the Cougars dropped their first WHAC Conference game of the year by a final of 12-8. 

Haden Fisk (0-2) got the start on the mound for the Cougars and would suffer the loss. Brodie Mackay would pick up 3 hits and 2 RBIs at the plate. 

In Game 2: The Cougar offense looked for revenge and would get off to a good start scoring two runs in the first inning. Hector Montilla got the scoring started with a single that scored Brendan Seman. Joey Parinello later scored on a bases-loaded walk. Cornerstone responded with a run themselves in the bottom half of the inning and then took the lead in the third when they scored three runs. The Cougar offense then exploded for 11 runs in the sixth inning to take a commanding 13-4 lead. The inning would be showcased by Jake VanderHaar who hit a two-run home run, the first of his collegiate career. The Golden Eagles tried to force a comeback when they scored three runs in the bottom half of the inning. However, pitcher Jack Westerhoff would come into the game and shut them down the rest of the way. Brodie Mackay added back one more insurance run in the seventh with a solo home run to right field. The Cougars would go on to pick up their first WHAC Conference win of the season by a final score of 14-7. 

Will Roberts got the start for the Cougars allowing 4 runs on 10 hits. Jack Westerhoff threw the final 3.1 innings while only allowing 1 hit and striking out 7 batters, a new career high for a single game. 

The Cougars are now 11-9 overall and 1-1 in WHAC Conference play. They will continue their season tomorrow afternoon when they travel to Livonia, MI to take on the Madonna University Crusaders. The WHAC matchup is set for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 PM.