Ravens Baseball pushed its winning streak to 10 games with a pair of doubleheader sweeps at home on Saturday and Sunday.
The Ravens (14-2) topped the Dakota Wesleyan University Tigers by scores of 3-2 and 6-4 on Saturday, then 7-3 and 22-6 on Sunday.
In Saturday's opener, the Ravens got a strong pitching performance from Michael Kruse. The senior completed 6 innings, struck out six batters, and allowed 2 unearned runs as the Ravens picked up a 3-2 win.
The Ravens offense was powered by the long ball. Jacob Slaten hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning, then Danny Favazza blasted a 2-run shot in the bottom of the third to give the Ravens a 3-0 lead.
The Tigers clawed back 2 runs in the top of the sixth, but Mason Carr pitched a scoreless seventh inning to earn the save.
Slaten had two hits in the game, including his homerun, and Daryl Myers also had two hits.
In Saturday's second game, the Ravens again built an early lead and then hung on late for a 6-4 win. And, like the first game, home runs played a major role in the contest.
With a 2-0 lead in the third inning, Michael Slaten launched a home run over the fence in right-center, which gave him the Benedictine College program record for most RBIs in a career (174). In his very next at-bat in the fourth inning, Slaten blasted a 2-run homer to set the Ravens record for most home runs in a career (51), and gave the Ravens a 6-0 lead.
Isaac Rudolph was solid on the mound for the Ravens, giving up 2 runs in 5.1 innings. Matt Piontek pitched the final two outs of the sixth inning as the Ravens took a 6-2 lead to the seventh.
A couple defensive miscues nearly cost the Ravens in the seventh inning. Two unearned runs were charged to Dillon Elliott and the Tigers loaded the bases with two outs. Slaten came on in relief and earned the save, earning a strikeout, a pop out and another strikeout to end the game.
Myers had two more hits in the contest, and Slaten scored 3 runs and drove in 3 runs as the Ravens moved to 12-2 heading into Sunday's series-ending doubleheader.
In the first game of Sunday's twin bill, Favazza helped lead the Ravens offense to another win. He had two doubles and a single, scoring 2 runs and driving in 2 runs, and stole three bases.
The Ravens got a solid outing from starter Luke Caruthers as he pitched 4.2 innings for the win, allowing 2 runs.
The Ravens held a slim 3-2 advantage heading into the bottom of the sixth inning but broke things open by plating 4 runs in the frame. Jackson Doherty had an infield single to start the rally, Myers reached on an error, Slaten singled, and then scored on one of Favazza's doubles. Favazza then scored on a sacrifice fly by Jacob Pavlyak.
Mason Carr pitched the final 2.1 innings in relief of Caruthers. He struck out four batters and earned the save.
The series ended with a bang as the Ravens scored 22 runs in the final game. After the Tigers scored 3 runs in the top of the first, the Ravens answered with 3 runs in the bottom of the first to level the score. Myers singled and scored on a single by Favazza. Pavlyak blasted a 2-run home run that landed in center field on the softball field beyond Olsen Stadium.
The Ravens scored 6 more runs in the second inning to grab control of the game, punctuated by a 2-run homer by Jack Harpole.
After 3 more runs in the fourth inning, the Ravens plated 10 runs in the sixth. Slaten hit his ninth homer of the season, a 3-run shot, to dead center to start the onslaught.
Myers finished the game a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate with 5 runs scored and 5 RBIs. Slaten and Pavlyak were each 3-5 with 5 RBIs, Favazza was 2-2 with 3 runs scored, and Doherty was 2-3 with 3 runs.
Mark Hartley started on the bump, pitching 2 innings and striking out two batters. Andrew Baier earned the win for the Ravens, going 3 innings, and Blake Patterson pitched the final two frames.
The Ravens are a perfect 12-0 at home on the season and will return to action at Olsen Stadium for conference doubleheaders against MidAmerica Nazarene University starting at noon on Friday, March 12.
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