WARRIORS' COMEBACK RALLY FALLS SHORT IN DOUBLEHEADER AGAINST MADONNA

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. - The Warriors caught fire at bat in the second game of their doubleheader against the Madonna Crusaders at Oakland University Baseball Field on a rainy Saturday afternoon, but it wouldn't be enough as RCU fell just short in the late innings. After a slow first game, the Warriors ramped things up in the second game, including a six-run sixth inning to storm back into the matchup. Beau Falkenhagen was stellar in the Warriors' two games, logging five hits and three RBI to lead RCU. 

THE RUNDOWN

It wasn't the best of starts for RCU in the first game, with the Crusaders jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning thanks to two hard-hit doubles that opened up the field for Madonna. The Crusaders added two more runs in the second inning, following up with a two-RBI homer in the fourth. One more run was added by Madonna in the bottom of the fifth, leaving RCU with work to do. 

The Warriors got on the scoring column thanks to big plays big Luke Jayaraman - the centerfielder would triple with two runners on to score two runs, before advancing to home for three runs in total. However, the scoring halted for both teams in the sixth and seventh innings, wrapping up the first game of the doubleheader at 10-3 for the Crusaders. 

The second game started out in the visitors' favor, with Madonna scoring on a throwing error by RCU. However, the Warriors responded quickly with three quick outs in the second inning before a Jack LaRue single advanced Lucas Bateman to home. Things took a turn for the worse for RCU in the next three innings, with Madonna hitting a home run in the third, setting up an 11-run unanswered streak through the top of the fifth inning. Fortunately for RCU, things shifted in the opposite direction thanks to a crucial fifth inning by Lucas Bateman. 

RCU's third baseman doubled to left field following a walk by Falkenhagen to give RCU their first score, before Bateman used some savvy baserunning to advance to home on a passed ball. Shortly after, a walk on Brendan DeFlorio set up a sacrifice fly for Tony Grazioli to cut the deficit to nine. Fortune continued to favor the Warriors in the sixth inning, when Falkenhagen homered after a defensive stand by the Warriors. Another short inning for Madonna paved way for an emphatic seventh inning by RCU. 

A DeFlorio double and two walks loaded up the bases for RCU, granting Bateman a free walk home. A fielding error by Madonna kept the bases loaded and gave another run to the Warriors, who took advantage of the momentum in a big way. Jayaraman singled to left field for an RBI, before a double down the right field line scored runs for Dakota Shafer and Jayden Peterson. The wild rally continued with another well-placed hit by Falkenhagen, who singled to second to score Jayaraman and close the gap to 12-11. 

Despite the run, the Crusaders recaptured momentum in the eighth inning, scoring four runs due to some untimely mistakes by the Warriors. RCU escaped the inning thanks to a groundout and scored on a bases-loaded walk after two singles by Jayaraman and Kuzinski. However, the runs ended there for the Warriors, who couldn't continue scoring off a bases-loaded situation. The ninth inning closed with a final score of 16-12, Madonna. 

UP NEXT

Should weather conditions permit, RCU will return to action on Monday to face the Northwestern Ohio Racers, heading to Lima, Ohio, for a doubleheader.

Hussein Murray - RCU Athletic Communications

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