Lakers Split Doubleheader With 1st Place Saints

JOLIET, Ill. – Roosevelt took an important split from a doubleheader Friday against first-place St. Francis in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference action in Joliet.

The Lakers (14-11, 5-5 CCAC) scored four runs in the sixth inning to pull away for a 9-4 win in the opening game of the day. The Fighting Saints responded with a 16-6 victory in the second game to set up the rubber matches Saturday at Ozinga Field. Roosevelt and St. Francis will play another doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. in Crestwood.

It was an action-packed start to the day as the teams scored in each of their first five half-innings, ending the third inning tied at 4. Bryce Hayman came around to score for the Lakers in the first after Luis Delgado reached on a fielding error in left field. The Fighting Saints scored two in their half of the first, but Hayman matched that output with a two-run single with two outs in the second. St. Francis tacked on two more in the bottom of the second before James Berry tied the game with a double to left center that plated Delgado.

After surrendering the four runs on five hits in the first two innings, Jake Glickman settled into a rhythm for Roosevelt on the mound. The right-hander retired St. Francis in order in three of the final five innings, working around a one-out double in the sixth and stranding a pair of runners on base in the fourth. He walked just one batter and allowed just three hits over the last five innings for his third win of the season.

Roosevelt had a little two-out magic in the bats in the fifth inning to take the lead for good. Sammy Estrada found the hole on the left side then Luca Paolucci continued the inning with a single. Sebastien Casillas then smashed a double into center field to break the tie and give the Lakers a 5-4 edge. Berry and Estrada had back-to-back RBI singles in the sixth inning then Paolucci drove in two with a double down the left-field line to complete the scoring.

The Lakers jumped out on the Fighting Saints again in the second game as Jojo Mack led off the contest with a single. Two batters later, Mack scored on Kekoa Ogawa's double then Ogawa scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-0 early. Even after St. Francis scored five in the first, the Lakers were quick to respond with Casillas' two-run homer in the second inning.

However, the Fighting Saints extended the lead out to 10-4 after five innings and Berry's RBI triple in the sixth and Ogawa's sacrifice fly in the seventh were not enough to spark a comeback. St. Francis tacked on three runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth to finish the game an inning early.