By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, OH---Logan Shullick went 4-for-4 in today's second game as the Express baseball team swept an OCCAC doubleheader from Cuyahoga Community College today.
Shullick, overall, combined to go 5-for-7 today, along with four runs and four RBIs. In the four game series, he hit 7-for-13 with five runs and eight RBIs.
Game 1: Owens 8 Cuyahoga 7
Nate Manis went 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs as the Express won a high scoring affair in today's first game.
Through the first eight half innings, the only time a team didn't score was in the top of the first, while no one scored after the fourth inning.
In the first, the Express got an RBI single from Manis, an RBI double from Shullick and an RBI single from Benjamin Breymier to take a 3-0 lead.
Cuyahoga got two runs in the next half inning off Express starter Garrett Scott. Manis then produced another RBI single in the bottom half to make it 4-2.
Following a single run for Cuyahoga in the third, the Express scored twice more in the bottom half on an RBI triple from Ryan Horvath and an RBI groundout from Dominic Bucci.
Scott, however, couldn't make it out of the fourth inning. After Scott allowed two singles and a walk to open the inning, Jordan Hill relieved him and closed out the inning, but not before Cuyahoga scored four times to take their first lead of the game.
In the bottom half, the Express chased Cuyahoga's starter, Mark Rauschenbach, with two more runs. Manis got his third RBI single of the game, followed by a passed ball later in the inning that allowed Manis to score what turned out to be the game winning run.
Hill allowed only two hit batters and a single over the next two innings, and Sean Koerber came in to close out Cuyahoga in the seventh. Koerber allowed a two-out double, but struck out Adam Urbania to end the game.
Hill picked up the win in relief as he allowed three hits and one run while striking out three over three innings. Scott's final line included three plus innings, six hits, six runs, four walks and one strikeout.
Koerber struck out two in the seventh.
Rauschenbach went the first four innings for Cuyahoga. His final line included eight hits, eight runs (six earned) and two strikeouts. Troy Goscewski threw two scoreless innings in relief while scattering two hits with two strikeouts.
Aside from Manis, Horvath finished 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI, while Breymier was 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI.
The Express produced three doubles (Justin Elder, Shullick and Nolan Rao) and one triple (Horvath), while Elder picked up the team's lone stolen base.
Rey Carrion went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a walk to lead the Cuyahoga offense.
Game 2: Owens 11 Cuyahoga 2
The Express dominated today's second game thanks to a dominating pitching performance from Dane Davis and a dominant plate performance from Shullick.
After Cuyahoga took a 1-0 lead in the first, the Express scored nine unanswered runs over the next four innings to take a 9-1 lead. Each team plated a run in the fifth.
Davis went the distance while allowing five hits, two runs and three walks while striking out six. He allowed a run in the first, but it was a tough luck run as a routine grounder to third that should have been the final out took a wild hop over Bucci's head for a single.
Davis faced just 28 batters and took only 97 pitches to finish off Cuyahoga.
While Davis was doing work on the mound, the middle of the lineup (3-6) for the Express combined to hit 12-for-14 with six runs and 10 RBIs.
In order, Shullick went 4-for-4 with three runs and three RBIs, Cowan went 3-for-3 with a run and two RBIs, Horvath was 3-for-4 with a run and three RBIs and Breymier was 2-for-3 with a run and two RBIs.
The other RBI came from Alex Samson, who went 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
In all, the Express offense went 15-for-30 with 11 runs, 11 RBIs and three walks.
Ryan Rock started and took the loss for Cuyahoga. He allowed 10 hits, nine runs (eight earned) and two walks over 3.1 innings. He struck out three.
Chris Hawks and Nick Meronof combined to throw the other 2.2 innings.
Elder picked up another stolen base for the Express, while Anthony Perez (sixth inning pinch hit double), Cowan (3B) and Horvath (3B) had the three Express extra base hits.
Breymier and Samson's RBIs came on sacrifice flies.
Notes
The Express are now 9-16 overall and 4-8 in the OCCAC, while Cuyahoga falls to 6-12 overall and 3-5 in the OCCAC.
The next action for the Express will be April 10 on the road against Saint Francis University JV. The doubleheader will begin at 3 p.m.
In the four game series, Davis picked up a win (today) and a save (yesterday).
