FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech baseball team used an offensive explosion and dominating pitching performance to sweep Aquinas on Wednesday evening, winning 18-8 in seven innings in game one before completing the sweep with a 12-1 victory in game two.
Brian Hakes went 5-7 on the day with eight RBI's, three runs and a pair of walks, while finishing a single shy of the cycle in game one.
Keith Tatum went 6-8 and knocked in three runs over the two games with two doubles and a triple.
Peyton Newsome hit a grand slam onto the hill of Concordia Lutheran Cemetery across Anthony Boulevard, going 3-4 with four walks on the afternoon.
Charlie Sipe took three bases in the first game while
Alex Delk went 3-4 with four RBI's.
Johnny Crawford came on in relief to pick up the win in game one, going, 5.1 innings and allowing three runs, one earned, on seven hits and striking out seven.
Tyler Wells went the distance in game two, allowing just one earned run on three hits and striking out a season-high 11 batters.
The Saints would take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Hakes would answer right back in the bottom of the inning with his ninth home run of the season to right field. A single from Sipe and a double from Tatum would give Tech a 3-1 lead after one.
Aquinas would respond with four runs on five hits in the second, but the Orange and Black would put four-spots on the board in the third and fourth innings to go up 12-5. Hakes would deliver a bases-clearing triple in the third while Delk smashed his first homer of the season to left field one inning later, plating three runs.
The visitors cut the deficit to 12-8 after five and a half innings, but Tech would push six runs across the plate in the bottom of the sixth to go up 18-8 and have the run-rule go into effect one inning later to win game one.
Game two saw the Warriors score twice in the first before exploding for six runs in the third to take a 8-0 lead thanks to Newsom's homer. The hosts would continue their offensive explosion with three runs in the sixth as they won game two 12-1 and extended their winning streak to seven games.
Tech (33-16, 17-12 WHAC) moves within one game of Concordia for fourth place in the WHAC with two games left for the Warriors. The Orange and Black will conclude the regular season on Thursday with a doubleheader against Aquinas. First pitch of game one is schedule for 1 p.m. from Warrior Stadium and links to live video and stats will be available at IndianaTechWarriors.com.
