Baseball Holds on to WHAC Lead with Split at Madonna

LIVONIA, MI - UNOH entered the penultimate weekend with a two-game advantage over second place Indiana Tech in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) standings with eight games left to play. After a doubleheader split at third place Madonna where they won 4-1 and lost 17-3, the Racers' lead was cut in half thanks to the Warriors picking up a pair of victories against Defiance.

Sophomore slinger Daniel Healy was in command of game one with the only run he allowed coming off a wild pitch in the fourth for his league leading eighth win of the season. Last season's Pitcher of the Year looked the part again striking out a career high nine batters while scattering six hits in his fourth complete game. 

The Racer offense didn't have their most efficient performance of the season but were helped by Healy's dominance on the mound. UNOH plated a single run in both the fourth and fifth before adding two in the seventh to edge out the victory. Zach Grigalis was responsible for the first run of the game with a RBI single and Eliomar Otero did the same in the next frame for a 2-1 lead. Back-to-back doubles by Fabian Romero and Otero scored the final two runs to finish off the win.

The Crusaders scored six runs in the first inning of game two and never looked back. All three Racer runs came off one swing of the bat in the top of the third with Cesar Grau tying for the team lead with his sixth home run of the season. Madonna kept pouring on the offense with four-run frames in both the fifth and sixth to end the game early.

Zach Cabell (4-3) was off the mark in the nightcap getting just one out while giving up four earned runs on four hits. Seven more Racers took the bump in relief led by Blake O'Bryan who made it two full innings with one run on three hits while striking out two. Parker Kerr finished the seventh inning allowing one run on two hits with one strikeout.

Despite the game two loss, UNOH still sits in a positive position with their final six games going against the bottom two teams in the conference standings. After an off day Saturday, the Racers head to Defiance for a twinbill against the Yellow Jackets before ending the regular season at home with a four-game stand against UM-Dearborn.