Lakers Bats Come Alive In Sweep Of Titans

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Roosevelt's offense was out in full force Friday in South Bend, Indiana as the Lakers swept a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader from Indiana South Bend.

The Lakers (26-20, 17-13 CCAC) put up plenty of crooked numbers in a 17-15 slugfest that required 10 innings to complete. The second game took far shorter as Roosevelt smashed the Titans 12-1 in five innings with rain moving through the area. The Lakers totaled 28 hits in the two games while forcing 17 walks and capitalizing on 10 Titans errors across the two games.

It took a little two out magic for the Lakers to win the opener after the two teams failed to score in the eighth or ninth inning. Roosevelt was nearly blanked again in the 10^th, but Ben Compton worked a walk to keep the inning alive. Indiana South Bend then hurled a wild pitch that allowed Jack Kieffer to score and Sammy Estrada came back with a double into left field to plate Compton.

The two runs in the 10^th were the final momentum swing in a contest that featured plenty of them. The two teams scored in 11 of the 14 regulation half-innings, starting with the Titans scoring two in the bottom of the first. The Lakers responded with five runs in the top of the second inning, starting with Estrada putting Roosevelt on the board with an RBI groundout. Sebastian Casillas followed with an RBI single into right field then Bryce Hayman was hit by a pitch, setting up Kekoa Ogawa to clear the bases with a three-run single into left field.

Indiana South Bend came back to score eight runs in the bottom half of the inning, but Roosevelt just took the lead back with six runs in the third. Hayman scored two with a double, Ogawa singled in another run and James Berry also added an RBI single. The final two runs in the third came courtesy of bases-loaded walks issued to Compton and Jojo Mack.

Roosevelt added to the lead in the fourth inning with run-scoring singles from Hayman and Ogawa. After the Titans tied the game in the fifth, Berry gave the Lakers the lead again in the sixth with a single and Kieffer hit an RBI sacrifice fly. The Titans tied the game again with two away in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings, but Ogawa rebounded from blowing the save to secure the win with four strikeouts over four innings of work.

It was a far more straightforward second game for Roosevelt after trailing 1-0 after the first inning. Angel Morales settled in on the mound and allowed six hits over five innings while striking out seven Titans in the shortened win. Meanwhile, Roosevelt scored in every inning after the first to pull away from Indiana South Bend.

Estrada and Kieffer had RBI singles in the second to give Roosevelt the lead then the Lakers piled on in the third inning. Ogawa doubled into the gap in right center field to score Hayman after a leadoff single, then Kieffer landed a ball in left field that scored Ogawa. Two batters later, Compton grounded out to first base on a sacrifice bunt that allowed Kieffer to score. Kieffer added an infield single in the fourth to extend Roosevelt's advantage to 6-1.

Yet, the Lakers were ready to go in the fifth inning scoring six runs on five hits, two walks and an error.  Compton began the frame with a double then Luca Paolucci and Estrada worked walks to load the bases. Casillas scored two runs with a single into right field and Hayman followed with a double that added another run to the tally. A wild pitch allowed Casillas to score from third and Hayman later scored on a Berry single. Nolan Boettcher ended the scoring with a deep sacrifice fly into center field that plated Berry.

Ogawa finished the doubleheader 5 for 10 with six RBIs and three runs scored. Hayman had three RBIs in the first game and one in the second, the inverse of Kieffer who had three RBIs in the second game after driving in just one run in the opener. Eight of the nine Roosevelt starters ended up with at least one RBI between the two games.

The two teams will finish the season series Saturday at Ozinga Field with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Prior to first pitch, Roosevelt will honor its 2024 senior class during its annual Senior Day ceremony, which will start at approximately 12:25 p.m.