Cougars' Strong Second Game Secures 8-4 Win After Walkoff Heartbreak

(Rockford, MI) -- The Cleary Cougars Baseball team headed west this afternoon to Rockford, MI to take on the Aquinas College Saints in a WHAC Conference doubleheader. 

In Game 1: The Cougars kicked things off in the first inning, scoring one run to take a 1-0 lead. After back-to-back singles by Conner Boone and Brendan Seman, Joey Parinello walked to load the bases. Brodie Mackay then hit the sacrifice fly to right field that scored Conner Boone. Aquinas would get out of the inning, and the game would become a pitching battle. Will Roberts got the start for the Cougars and would get through five scoreless innings before allowing a run in the sixth. With the game tied 1-1 and heading into the bottom of the seventh, Aquinas would get runners on first and third with one out. Cleary intentionally walked the batter to load the bases and force an out at any base. Cougar pitcher Marty McDonald would get the next batter to pop out to the shortstop Austin Vincent. Aquinas's next batter would walk in the game-winning run, leaving the Cougars with a 2-1 walkoff loss. 

Will Roberts got the start for the Cougars on the mound and would finish with a final stat line of 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, and 8 SO. 

In Game 2: The Cougars once again got on the board in the first inning, scoring two runs to take a 2-0 lead. Joey Parinello drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly, while the other run scored on a fielding error. The Cougars increased their lead to 3-0 in the second when Conner Boone laid down a perfect bunt that scored Austin Vincent from third and allowed him to be safe at first base. Aquinas got one back in the bottom half of the inning, making it a 3-1 ballgame, however, the offense wasn't done for the Cougars as they went on to score five more runs in the third. Brodie Mackay got it going with a double the scored Hector Montilla. Braylon Hughes switched spots with Brodie Mackay with a double of his own. Gavin Kempainen would single later in the inning, scoring Braylon Hughes, and a sacrifice fly from Brendan Seman scored Austin Vincent. With two outs in the inning, it seemed that Conner Boone purposely got picked off at first base. He would stay in a rundown long enough for Gavin Kempainen to score from third before the tag was applied for the third out of the inning. Aquinas was able to pick up one run in the fourth and two more in the fifth; however, it wasn't enough for them as the Cougar pitching shut them down, leading the Cougars to an 8-4 victory. 

Nate Raniszewski got the start for the Cougars and would throw the first 4.2 innings, allowing 4 runs. Jack Westerhoff finished off the rest of the game on the mound, tossing the final 4.1 innings while allowing 0 runs. 

The Cougars are now 17-17 overall and 7-7 in WHAC Conference play. They hit the field next this Wednesday when they travel down to Lourdes University for a makeup doubleheader from April 2. Game 1 will start at 1:00 PM.