FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Indiana Tech baseball team has taken nine of their last ten contests after splitting their double-header with Madonna on Tuesday evening, losing 6-7 and winning 16-6 in 8 innings.
The bats were alive in this series, with Madonna earning 11 hits and Tech earning 10 hits in game one. Madonna struck first in the first inning, but the Warriors responded in the second, as
Aron Busick would score on a wild pitch. The Crusaders would reel off five run in the third and fourth innings. The Warrior offense came alive in the bottom of the fourth, as
Parker Bates tripled to center field, bringing home Busick and
Ashtin Moxey to make the score 3-7.
Jayden Reed would then bring Bates home on a single to center field, followed by
Jacob Daftari launching a ball to left center to get Reed and
Trevor Patterson home. But that's where the scoring would stop, as Tech would fall just one run short, dropping the contest 6-7.
Ryan Troxel threw 3.2 innings, striking out two batters, while
Kris Massey would finish things off with 3.0 innings pitched, striking out four Crusaders.
The bats got even hotter in game number two, with the Crusaders starting things off with a bang, taking the first pitch of the game deep to left field for a home run, followed by two more runs in the second and third innings. Tech would generate some offense in the fourth inning, as
Brice Stultz doubled down the right field line to send
Jayden Reed home, and then Daftari would score on a passed ball right after, while Stultz would advance to third and then score on a sacrifice fly by
Tyler Stahl.
The Crusaders would score twice in the fifth inning, but they weren't prepared for what the Warriors were ready to give them in the sixth.
Manuel Ascanio started off the explosion by sending a ball over the fence in left field for a two-run shot to tie the game at five.
Trevor Patterson would later draw a walk with the bases loaded which brought home
Aron Busick. Bates would then score on a passed ball to give the Warriors a 7-5 lead, but they still weren't done.
Patrick McGinn doubled through the left side, bringing home Patterson and Reed.
Tyler Stahl then doubled down the right field line to bring home McGinn to complete the seven run inning. Madonna would score a run in the eigth, but the Warriors wanted this one over early, as
Tyler Stahl would hit a three-run shot over the right field fence and onto Anthony Blvd, increasing Tech's lead to 13-6. Reed would then double to center field, sending Bates, Osika, and
Damien Gudakunst home, making it 15-6 in favor of Tech. With the bases loaded, and the Orange and Black one run away from 10-run ruling their WHAC foe,
Jacob Daftari was hit by a pitch, ending the game.
Zachary Zaborowski started the game for the Warriors, striking out six batters in five innings while
Coley Stevens took over in the sixth, striking out three Crusaders and finishing off the game.
Indiana Tech improves to 21-16 on the year and 9-5 in WHAC play, they'll next host second place Lawrence Tech (17-14, 9-3 WHAC) this Saturday at Warrior Field, with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 PM.
