Baseball Earns Two Comeback Wins Over Walsh, Completes Weekend Sweep of Cavaliers

OVERVIEW – WALSH UNIVERSITY  

GAME 1

SCORE: Northwood 3, Walsh 2

RECORDS: Northwood 32-9 (19-4 GLIAC), Walsh 27-12 (16-7 GLIAC)

LOCATION: Gerace Stadium, Northwood University

RECAP: Timberwolves once again use late inning magic as Martinez's two RBIs propels Northwood to second consecutive walk-off win.

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS

• Walsh grabbed an early lead in the second inning after two hits and a passed ball moved runners to second and third. Tyson Lautanen laced a single to center to score the first run and James Thomas followed with another base hit to push the Cavalier lead to 2-0.
• The Timberwolves were held to two hits without a run until the fourth inning when Javier Martinez cut the lead in half with a solo home run to left field.
• In the bottom of the fifth, David Vinsky appeared to hit an inning ending double play ball, but he was able to beat it and the throw got away from the Walsh first baseman, advancing Vinsky to second. Down 0-2 in the count with two outs, Daniel Pulver had a clutch base hit up the middle to score Vinsky and tie the game at two.
• In the top of the seventh, Walsh came back with a leadoff double by Marcus Bobb and passed ball put a runner at third base with nobody out. However, Ian Dimitrie pitched around it with a strikeout, foulout, and flyout to keep the game tied at two.
• Having a flair for the dramatic yesterday with Nick Palmer's walk-off home run, the Timberwolves provided more heroics in the bottom half of the seventh. With two outs and the bases empty, Daniel Pulver whistled double to center field. The next batter, Javier Martinez slapped a single to left field to score the game-winning run and once again, NU earned the walk-off win.

GAME 1 STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors Northwood: 3/8/2, Walsh: 2/8/1
• Runners Left on Base: Northwood: 7, Walsh: 9
• Winning Pitcher: Ian Dimitrie (4-3) 7 IP, 8H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 7K
• Losing Pitcher: Nick Bebout (1-1), 0.2 IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 1K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Javier Martinez: (2-4), 1R, HR, 2 RBI
• Daniel Pulver: (2-4), 1R
• Kyle Ziegler: (2-3)

GAME 1 NOTES

• The Timberwolves have extended their school record for wins in a single season to 32, and have won 16 of their last 18.
• This was the fourth time Ian Dimitrie went at least seven innings, and in each start the team has won.
• This was the ninth multi-RBI game for Javier Martinez.
• The walk-off win was the second in a row, and the fifth walk-off win for Northwood this season.
• Northwood is undefeated at home this season, 7-0.

GAME 2

SCORE: Northwood 5, Walsh 4

RECORDS: Northwood: 33-9 (20-4 GLIAC), Walsh: 27-13 (16-8 GLIAC)

LOCATION: Gerace Stadium, Northwood University

RECAP: Northwood completes the comeback win as Richie O'Neil cracks go-ahead single in the eighth inning to power Northwood to weekend sweep over Walsh.

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS

• Walsh for the third consecutive game struck first, as Tyson Lautanen got the job done with an RBI single to center in the top of the second to put the Cavaliers ahead 1-0.
• Northwood came back in the bottom of the second to tie the game rather quickly. Martinez was hit by a pitch, Brian Dombrowski singled, and Brooks Ullery walked to load the bases. Richie O'Neil walked and got an RBI to tie the game at one. However, Northwood left them loaded as Walsh limited the damage to the one run.
• With two outs in the fourth, Connor Foley came up big just as he has all season with a two-out solo big fly to left field to lift Northwood to the lead at 2-1.
• NU starter Kyle Vedrode pitched around a jam in the fifth with runners at second and third by inducing a ground ball off the bat of Austin Szink to keep the Timberwolves on top, 2-1.
• The game remained 2-1 until the top of the seventh. After the first two batters walked, a sacrifice bunt by Eric Conner moved each runner to second and third with one out. Andrew Stalnaker then crushed a 3-run blast to left field to make it a 4-2 game in favor of the Cavaliers.
• Connor Foley decided to keep it in the yard this time leading off the seventh, shooting the gap in right-center field with a triple. Vinsky then walked to put runners at the corners with nobody out. However, Walsh induced a twin killing, allowing one run to score, but that's all. The Timberwolves trailed 4-3 after seven innings of play.
• Kyle Ziegler took one for the team to lead off the eighth inning getting hit by a pitch. Dombrowski moved him over with a sacrifice bunt, setting the table for Robert Spencer. He singled in Ziegler to tie the game at four.
• With two outs and Spencer at first, Richie O'Neil shot a grounder fair inside the third base line to score Spencer all the way from first and moving the Timberwolves ahead 5-4 after eight innings of play.
• Northwood then called on relief pitcher Max Bain to shut the door for the save, and indeed he did. Bain set the first two Caviliers down, surrended a two out single, and struck out Austin Szink for the final out, giving Northwood the 5-4 victory.

GAME 2 STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors Northwood: 5/8/1 Walsh: 4/8/2
• Runners Left on Base: Northwood: 9 Walsh: 9
• Winning Pitcher: Matt Stojkov (4-0), 2 IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 3K
• Losing Pitcher: Mark Mittiga (4-2), 4 IP, 3H, 3R, 3ER, 1BB 6K

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Richie O'Neil (2-4), 2 RBI
• Connor Foley (2-5), 2R, HR RBI, BB
• David Vinsky (1-2), 2 BB, 1R

GAME 2 NOTES

• With the win, Northwood has tied the school record for GLIAC wins in a single season (20), set in 2015 (20-12).
• Northwood remains undefeated at home this season as the Timberwolves have won all eight games at Gerace Stadium this year.
• Entering the weekend, Walsh and Northwood were tied for first in the GLIAC. Northwood now has a sole possession of first place in the league, and a three game lead over Wayne State and four game lead over Walsh.
• David Vinsky leads the GLIAC in batting average after play today batting a clean .448.
• Max Bain is now second on the team in saves after picking up his third of the season. Six different pitchers have earned a save this season for Northwood.

COACH Jordan Bischel

"This weekend had to have been a lot of fun from a fan's perspective. Two good teams played four very entertaining games. We may not have deserved to win all four, but I am continually impressed with our ability to never quit. We will rest up for a day and then work hard to prepare for a tough weekend next week."

UP NEXT

The Timberwolves will host Ohio Dominican on April 29^th for a GLIAC doubleheader against the Panthers. Game time is set for 1 p.m.