Baseball overcomes early struggles to split at Madonna

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

LIVONIA, Mich. – After seeing the home Crusaders post a convincing win in the opener on Saturday, the Golden Eagles got a strong pitching performance from Brandon Willard (JR/Sylvan Lake, Mich.) to split with a 2-1 game two win. The 1-1 day leaves Cornerstone at 10-17 overall and 3-7 in league play. CU will return to action on Wednesday when they play a doubleheader at cross-town foe Aquinas College.

Game Flow

Game 1 – The Golden Eagles struck in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead when Sonny Mastromatteo (SR/Ortonville, Mich.) singled home Dalton Reust (SR/Grand Ledge, Mich.) but that lead would be short-lived as the Crusaders scored five in the bottom half and then added three more in the next two frames to lead 8-1.

The Madonna bats really came alive in the fourth as they tacked on eight more for a commanding 16-1 lead before the Golden Eagles got a pair of runs late from Reust (single by Zach Bohl (JR/Hudsonville, Mich.)) and Seth Ritsema (FR/Grandville, Mich.) (RBI groundout from Jon Stewart (FR/Rockford, Mich.)).

Game 2 – Needing a win to get the day and series split, Cornerstone got a dominating pitching performance from Brandon Willard. The southpaw went the distance (7IP) while allowing just four hits and striking out seven.

The only offense CU needed they got in the third and fourth innings. CU tied the game at 1-1 when Jonny Abbadusky (SO/Elverson, Pa.) reached on an error that scored Jon Stewart. The Golden Eagles then took the lead in the next inning on an RBI single Evan Wagner (SO/Port Huron, Mich.) that scored Sonny Mastromatteo.

Starters Lines
Game 1 – Justin Geerts (JR/Surrey, B.C.) – 0.1, 1H, 5R (5ER), 0K's
Game 2 – Brandon Willard – 7.0IP, 4H, 0R, 7K

Offensive Numbers
Evan Wagner posted two hits in game two including the game winning RBI
Jonny Abbadusky reached base twice in the nightcap; one via a hit and one a walk
The Cornerstone hitters only struck out once in the second game victory
Dalton Reust went 2-2 with a pair of runs and a walk in the opener

What's Next
Cornerstone will stay in Grand Rapids for the entire week as they head over to Aquinas on Wednesday before hosting Northwestern Ohio over the weekend.

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