April 30, 2009

Box Score

River Forest, IL - The Dominican University baseball team kept hope alive for the 2009 Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) baseball tournament as it took both ends of a doubleheader from Edgewood College on Wednesday night. The pair of wins improved the Stars to 17-17 on the season and 10-8 in NAC play just three games out of the fourth and final spot in the conference tournament and four games out of first place with four games remaining on the Stars' schedule.

Left-hander Anthony Davey (Wellington, OH) moved to 5-0 on the season as he picked up his second complete-game victory of the year as the Stars topped Edgewood 1-0 in game one. The Stars' ace scattered four hits and one walk over nine innings while striking out seven. The Eagles only managed to put one runner into scoring position as left fielder Justin Dahmen led off the bottom of the eighth with a double to center. Davey stranded Dahmen there as he induced a groundout to third and strikeout before closing out the inning with a groundball to second.

Freshman Lenny Cunzalo (Chicago, IL) drove in the lone run of the ballgame in the top of the seventh. After a one-out single by senior Mike Albert (Chicago, IL), Cunzalo doubled to deep left after Albert advanced to second on a wild pitch. Cunzalo now has nine runs batted in on the season and the double was the freshman's seventh extra-base hit of the season. The Stars managed nine hits in the ballgame, including two hits apiece from Albert and fellow senior Colby Batchelor (Northridge, CA).

In game two the Stars wasted no time, taking a 2-0 lead on an RBI double by junior Kevin Cahill (Chicago, IL) en route to a 13-3 win. The Stars' offense rapped out 15 hits in the game, including a combined seven hits from freshmen Rob Fioravanti (Evergreen Park, IL) and Cunzalo. Fioravanti was 4-for-5 at the plate with a pair of doubles while driving in three runs and scoring another three while Cunzalo went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and two RBI. Sophomore Chris Anderson (Plainfield, IL) also drove in three runs in the game.

Sophomore Matthew Dehn (McHenry, IL) improved to 4-3 on the season as he went 5.2 innings on the mound for Dominican, scattering seven hits and four walks while striking out three. Dehn gave way to Tim Ridolphi (Westchester, IL) in the bottom of the sixth with Dominican leading 7-3. Ridolphi slammed the door on the Eagles as he picked up his first save of the season, throwing three-plus innings. The lanky right-hander allowed just one hit and three walks the rest of the way.

The Stars were scheduled to host Lakeland College on Thursday for a doubleheader at Alexian Field, but that game has been postponed because of rain. Dominican will continue to fight for the NAC Tournament on Friday, as they travel to Mequon, Wis., to take on the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 11:00 a.m.