Wilson Belts Two Historic Homers, Baseball Falls at AQ

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WYOMING, Mich. — Sophomore outfielder Raleigh Wilson made history by jacking a pair of home runs on Saturday (April 18) in Wyoming, Mich., but Marygrove baseball ended the day on the wrong end of a sweep as the host Aquinas College Saints won game one, 12-2, before taking the latter contest by a narrow 4-2 final tally.

Wilson’s historic homers – the first in program history – provided plenty of excitement on a day where the first-year, shorthanded Mustangs fell to 2-37overall and 1-27 in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) action. The Saints improved to 16-21 overall and 11-14 in WHAC play after staving off the Mustangs late comeback to win all four games in the weekend series.

GAME ONE – Aquinas 12, @MGroveBASEBALL 2
The Mustangs shot out to a hot start in game one, scoring two runs in the top half of the first to take an early lead. Drew Johnson, one of the hottest bats in the Mustang lineup, singled to left field to leadoff the game and was followed one batter later by Jon Weatherspoon (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron High School) who walked to put two runners on with nobody out.

Johnson (Trenton, Mich./Trenton High School) advanced to third and remained there with two down in the inning until a James Edwards (Detroit, Mich./Shaw University) steal forced a throwing error from the Saints catcher to score the speedy outfielder from Trenton.

With a runner on second after the steal, sophomore catcher Kyle Hartwick (Oxford, Mich./Rend Lake CC) sent a sharp single to left center to score Edwards and end the Mustangs offensive threat in the first inning.

Freshman Jacob Baker (Berkley, Mich./Berkley High School) took the ball from there and tossed a gem – one of many as of late for the crafty lefty. Baker retired the first eight Saints batters before a bunt single broke of the no-hit bid in the bottom of the third. Baker would get out of the inning one batter later, forcing a groundout to third base.

The pitching dominance continued through five innings before Baker was lifted in the sixth after the Saints’ bats exploded for six runs on seven hits. Baker left the game charged with with seven runs despite turning in a fine performance on the mound for head coach Ryan Kottke and the Mustangs.

The six-run inning gave the Saints a 7-2 lead after six innings in the nine-frame opener, deflating the young Mustangs as the hosts went on to win, 12-2, in eight innings.

Hartwick led the Mustangs by going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI, while Johnson, Wilson and Mavrick Dube (Warren, Mich./Mott High School) were responsible for the other Green and Gold hits in game one.

The Saints’ Matt Krzykwa picked up his second win of the season after coming in for two innings of relief work and retiring all but one Mustang batter.

GAME TWO – Aquinas 4, @MGroveBASEBALL 2
The story of game two went to Raleigh Wilson (Harrison Twp., Mich./West Texas College). The sophomore helped teammate and freshman pitcher Ryne Underwood (Louisville, Ky./Fern Creek High School) leave the game with no decision after belting the first home run in Marygrove baseball history in the top of the fourth inning.

Wilson’s home run, a solo shot over the 365-foot left-center wall, knotted up Saturday’s latter game, 1-1, matching the Saints solo shot in the second inning. Wilson’s connection was a great sign for Kottke and the Mustangs as the sophomore continues to rehab from a nagging ankle injury earlier this season.

For Underwood, the Saints’ solo home run in the second inning was the freshman’s only blemish through the first half of Saturday’s game two. The Louisville, Ky. product was solid once again for the Mustangs, posting four innings of three-hit, one-run ball – one day after coming on in relief for the Green and Gold against the Saints. The four-inning outing was the latest in a long line of quality starts for Underwood as he continues to impress down the stretch of his freshman campaign.

Edwards, responsible for a run in the opener, jogged to the mound in relief of Underwood for the final two innings. The senior faced a tough Saints lineup that once again came through in the clutch to tally three runs in the sixth inning. The three-run sixth frame left the Mustangs in a 4-1 hole with the seventh and final inning remaining.

In the seventh, Wilson provided fireworks one more time as he jacked the second home run in program history. Wilson’s lead-off home run, his second solo shot of the game, easily cleared the left-center wall as the sophomore had the Saints feeling déjà vu in the final inning. The solo home run cut the deficit to two, 4-2, but the Mustangs couldn’t rally from there to lose by a pair of runs.

BASEBALL CONTACT: Tim Johnston | [email protected]/* */ | @tjohnston56
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