Despite Mother Nature bringing back winter temperatures for the series, Benedictine Baseball opened up its home schedule on Saturday and Sunday with a four-game series against Briar Cliff University on Laughlin Field at Olsen Stadium.
The two teams played to a split on Saturday with the Ravens winning game one, 6-1, and the Chargers taking game two, 9-3. Briar Cliff started Sunday's doubleheader with a 9-6 win before Benedictine capped off the weekend with a 6-5 walk-off win.
Game 1: Benedictine 6, Briar Cliff 1
After giving up a run in the second inning, Lance Bolles settled in for the Ravens on the hill in the series opener. Bolles threw 6 shutout six total shutout innings for the complete-game win. He finished with 4 strikeouts while giving up 4 hits.
Carson Hintz, Matthew Johnson, and Skyler Specht recorded doubles at the plate. Matthew Gabriel added 2 RBI while Brice Martin, Michael McCavitt, JK Sparks, and Johnson added an RBI each.
Game 2: Briar Cliff 9, Benedictine 3
Briar Cliff recorded 14 hits in the second game of the series en route to a Saturday split.
Scott Matzke earned the start on the hill for the Ravens and went 4 innings in the loss. He gave up 3 earned runs off 8 hits before Cole Voss and Evan DeMint finished off the game allowing 4 more runs.
McCavitt recorded the only extra-base hit with a double while Sparks added 2 RBI.
Game 3: Briar Cliff 9, Benedictine 6
The Chargers scored 3 runs in the fifth and 2 runs in the sixth to cap off a comeback and take the first game over the Ravens on Sunday.
Nic Mozingo earned the start for the Ravens on the hill. He threw the first 3 innings, giving up 4 total runs as he was relieved in the fourth inning by Avery Baber. Mozingo was credited with the loss after the Chargers took the lead after he exited with two runners on base. Nick Bauer and Charlie Elsten followed Baber in relief, allowing 2 more runs.
Brice Martin recorded 3 hits at the plate as Benedictine was limited to 6 total in the third game of the series.
Game 4: Benedictine 6, Briar Cliff 5.
Matthew Johnson drew a bases-loaded walk to cap off a 5-run bottom of the seventh inning in the series finale to give the Ravens the walk-off win over the Chargers.
After giving up a run in the bottom of the first, Chargers starter Nick Hays threw five shutout innings and was in position to earn the win and clinch the series for the Chargers. Briar Cliff used 3 pitchers in the seventh, allowing the Ravens to earn the comeback win and split the series. Brock Saya gave up 3 runs off 1 hit before Owen Lester gave up 2 runs off 1 hit. Rance Bryant – who earned the save in the first game on Sunday – allowed 1 hit with 2 walks to suffer the loss.
Brice Martin recorded the Ravens only extra-base hit, a double off Hays. Dominic Ferrari, Carson Hintz, JK Sparks, Brylan Haas, Matthew Johnson, and Cooper Milroy all recorded an RBI in the win.
Benedictine is scheduled to host a four-game series at Olsen Stadium next weekend, but the forecast for next week has a campus is in a Winter Storm Watch starting on Tuesday with forecasted highs next weekend below freezing.
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