By Chris Schmidbauer, Sports Information Director
Elyria, OH -- The Owens Express Baseball team kept up its fast start to the 2019 season on Wednesday with a double header sweep against Lorain on the road. Owens won the first game 6-4 and they shout out the Commodores in the night cap by a final 0f 5-0.
In game one, the Express got off to a fast start, scoring two runs in the first and three more in the second to stake a quick 5-0 lead. Owens would add one more in the top half of the fourth, to push their lead to 6-0. Lorain would mount a comeback though, tagging Express starter Alec Jaquilard for four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Owens would turn to Grant Delas to shut the door on the Commodores, and he would throw 2.1 innings of shutout baseball to secure the win for the Express.
Right fielder Jarrett Batanian would supply the offense at the plate, going 2-4 with 2 RBI while third baseman Jake Pickerel and second baseman Andrew Flowers would drive in two of the other Owens runs. Jaquillard would pitch 4.2 while giving up the four runs, only two of which were earned. He struck out five while giving up three walks. He would pick up the win. Delas would grab the save, striking out four in his 2.1 innings of work. He walked two batters as well.
In game two, Owens would hand the ball off to Brody Clark, who would pitch five innings of shutout baseball. His teammates would stake him to a 1-0 lead in the second. Clark would allow just two hits over his five innings of work striking out two batters as well, before handing the ball off to Ryan Elgin. Owens would bust out offensively in the top half of the seventh, plating four runs to give the Express a solid lead heading into the home half of the inning. Elgin would shut the door to preserve the shutout, striking out three over the final two innings of play and not allowing a hit.
Jarrett Batanian kept his hot bat going, driving in two on a 2-4 effort in the second game. Andrew Flowers laced a triple to drive in a run during the game, while centerfielder, Ryan Jagodzinski, would hit two doubles on the afternoon as well as driving in a run for the Express. Clark would claim the win, while Elgin would grab the save in relief for Owens.
The Express are now 12-5 on the season and 3-1 in the OCCAC. They are scheduled to hit the road this weekend to take on Cuyahoga. The two teams are slated to play double headers on Friday and Saturday afternoon.
Owens will return home next Wednesday to take on Delta College in a planned double header.
Notes:
- Owens pitcher Noah Richard was named OCCAC Pitcher of the Week. Richard was rewarded for his outing against Lakeland on Saturday. He pitched a complete game shutout against the Lakers, striking out 10 in a 5-0 win for the Express. Richard gave up just four hits and only walked two.