From University of Chicago Athletics
The University of Chicago baseball team got its offensive flow going early on for a blowout win in the opener, but Hanover College returned the favor in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader.
The Maroons evened their season record at 3-3, and the Panthers moved to 3-9. UChicago took two out of three in the weekend series.
Game One – UChicago 10, Hanover 2
The Maroons scored five runs in the first three innings of Sunday's morning tilt to jump on the Panthers for a 10-2 win in seven innings.
Sophomore designated hitter Michael Davis hit his second home run in as many games – a dead pull shot to left field. Freshman outfielder Connor Hickey (3-for-4, one RBI) and freshman second baseman Max Brzostowski (2-for-4, three RBIs) combined for five singles. Junior shortstop Ryan Krob hit another double in a 2-for-4 outing while freshman catcher Ian Bohnsmacked the third double of his season and is now batting .421. Freshman outfielder Josh Parks went 2-for-3 in the batter's box.
Freshman pitcher Brenton Villasenor scattered five hits over six innings of two run (one earned run) baseball for the Maroons, earning the first win of his collegiate baseball career. After assuming DH duties for the first six innings, Davis made the move to the mound for the Maroons in the seventh and slammed the door shut by striking out the side.
The Maroons scored once in the first, three times in the second and once more in the third, pouncing on top of the Panthers for a 5-1 lead through three innings. It was the bottom of the UChicago batting order doing damage for the visitors in the top of the second. Hickey singled up the middle, Parks worked a walk, and Brzostowski singled Hickey home, advancing Parks to third. The Maroons turned the lineup over, scoring two more runs in the inning before it was over.
UChicago's offense was kept off the scoreboard in the fourth and fifth, but sparked once again by the bottom half of the lineup, dropped three runs on the Panthers in the top of the sixth. It was Hickey singling to start off the big inning again for the visitors. UChicago soon found itself with a runner at second and two outs on the scoreboard. The top of the lineup returned the favor, coming up big for the Maroons with junior outfielder Nicholas Toomey singling home Brzostowski and reaching base to extend the inning and bring up Davis' lineup spot. Davis, doubling his home run total from his freshman year in only the fifth game of 2016, turned on the baseball, launching it over the left field fence for a two-run exclamation point.
The Maroons scored two more runs in the top of the seventh to register double digits in runs for the second time this year. Brzostowski provided a two-run single to close out the scoring. UChicago dropped 13 hits on Hanover and worked two free passes while committing one error.
Game Two – Hanover 9, UChicago 3
Krob hit two doubles, giving him four in the weekend's three-game series with Hanover, but UChicago fell in the second half of Sunday's doubleheader 9-3.
Six Maroons had at least two hits - seniors Kevin Tully and Tim Sonnefeldt, junior Krob, sophomore Davis and freshmen Justin Lo and Parks. UChicago held the Panther offense to five runs in the first 16 innings this weekend. However, in the afternoon game, the Hanover offense broke out in a big way.
The home team scored two in the fist, one in the second, and six in the third. Hanover had six hits in the bottom of the third, including sophomore Jack Shine's two-run double. The Panthers held their 9-0 grip on the game until the top of the fifth. The Maroon offense, which had four hits through the first four innings, got on the scoreboard when Krob's walk scored sophomore outfielder Max Larsen.
After a noisy start to the game, neither offense was heard from until the bottom of the ninth, when UChicago attempted to make things interesting. Lo, who singled to start the inning, found himself at third when Krob hit a double to put two men in scoring position. A balk brought Lo home and then Davis singled to bring in Krob. However, the Panthers were able to record the 27th out and stranded the bases full.
UChicago outhit Hanover (13-11) and earned more walks (6-4), but left 15 men on base compared to the home team's seven. Junior Thomas Prescott (2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K), senior Alex Athenson (1 IP), sophomore Robert Fuentes (1 IP, 2 BB) and freshman Alex McGimpsey (1 IP) all turned in scoreless relief performances. Senior Nick Watson started the game and took the loss (3 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 4 K).