Baseball falls to UNOH in doubleheader

(Utica, MI) - The Rochester Christian baseball team returned to UWM Field in Utica, Michigan, to take on the Northwestern Ohio Racers in a WHAC doubleheader. 

GAME 1 - NORTHWESTER OHIO 16, ROCHESTER CHRISTIAN 8

Joey Wagner opened the game on the mound, pitching a scoreless first inning, allowing one hit. 

A quick top of the first inning would lead to RCU taking the early 3-0 lead. Cael Kuzinski and Issander Vega led off with a hit by pitch and a walk, respectively, before Aiden Alspaugh doubled down the left field line. Beau Falkenhagen then singled home Vinnie Campisi, who pinch ran for Alspaugh, making it 3-0.

UNOH responded right back in the second inning, grabbing four runs to take their first lead of the game. The Warriors tied the game up in the bottom of the inning with Jayden Peterson taking home following a throw down to second on a steal by Cael Kuzinski. 

The Racers retook the lead at the top of the third, scoring on a sacrifice fly. 

RCU battled back in the bottom of the fourth inning, plating three runs, taking a 7-5 lead. Niko Lahr began the inning with a walk and would eventually come around to score on a double to left center by Issander Vega. Vega would then score following a Dakota Shafer single, and Vinnie Campisi tallied the third run, scoring off an error. 

The next two innings saw Northwestern Ohio take a commanding lead with 11 runs, piecing together a couple of hits, including a three-run home run. RCU grabbed its final run of the game in the final half inning on a Niko Lahr double, scoring Beau Falkenhagen. 

Joseph Arends (0.0 innings), Will Pflaum (2.2 innings), Landon Fahey (1.2 innings), Jeffrey Preston (2-1) (0.1 innings), Connor Foreman (1.0 innings), and Christian Rivera (0.1 innings) closed out the rest of the six innings of play, collecting five strikeouts. 

GAME 2 - NORTHWESTERN OHIO 23, ROCHESTER CHRISTIAN 4

Dakota Shafer (2-4) pitched the first four innings, allowing six runs on seven hits with a pair of strikeouts. 

RCU scored the first four runs in the game with three in the first inning and then a run in the second. The first run of the game came off the bat of Dakota Shafer, with a double down the left field line, scoring Cael Kuzinski. Beau Falkenhagen followed up a couple of batters later, beating out an infield single, scoring Aiden Alspaugh, and then RCU would complete a double steal with Vinnie Campisi coming home. 

In the second inning, the Warriors would strike once again with Ryder Zeiman knocking his first career home run out to deep left center field. 

From that point on, beginning in the fourth inning, UNOH would tack on six runs in the fourth, five runs in the fifth, four runs in the sixth and eight runs in the seventh to close out the doubleheader. 

Keaton Diserens (0.1 innings), Louis Frontero (1.1 innings), Gavin Swigart (0.1 innings), and Christian Rivera combined to pitch the final three innings. Rivera would earn a strikeout. 

UP NEXT

The Warriors will be back in action on Wednesday, April 15, as they take a break from conference play with a doubleheader against the Grace Christian Tigers, beginning at 1 PM.