Box Score
Valparaiso hosted the inaugural SouthShore Showdown on Wednesday
evening at U. S. Steel Yard in Gary,
Ind., but it was Notre Dame that
came away with an 8-1 victory over the Crusaders to spoil the festivities.
Six Fighting Irish pitchers
limited Valpo to just five hits on the evening, and not more than one in any
inning.
“We just could not get our
offense on track tonight,” head coach Tracy
Woodson said.
Notre Dame struck first in
the opening inning. Ryan Connolly led
off with a double just inside the bag at third.
Following a hit batsman and an infield single, Billy Boockford singled
to left to put the Fighting Irish in front 2-0.
Connolly again doubled to
left in the second to score another Notre Dame run and scored one batter later
on a ground out, giving the Fighting Irish a four run advantage.
Austen Siwiec
(Aurora, Ill./Marmion
Academy) came on in the third for the Crusaders, throwing three scoreless
innings while striking out six.
Valpo put threatened in both
the fourth and sixth innings, as Kyle
Gaedele (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows H.S.) and Justin Frane (Huntertown,
Ind./Carroll H.S.) led off with
doubles respectively, but the Crusaders could not push either run across. Frane’s hit extended his hitting streak to 14
straight games.
The Crusader bullpen
continued to shine, as Steve Godawa
(Buffalo Grove, Ill./Buffalo
Grove H.S.) struck out two and Matt
Carroll (Rockton, Ill./Hononegah H.S.) fanned the side in the
seventh to keep the deficit at four.
“Our middle relief pitched
really well today,” Woodson added. “We
are going to need that if we want to continue to win games down the stretch and
heading into the conference tournament.”
The Fighting Irish added four
insurance runs in the ninth, one on a throwing error and three more on a
homerun to left by Connolly.
Valpo finally found the
scoreboard in the bottom of the ninth as Gaedele tallied his second double of
the day and scored on a one out groundout by Paul Heinkel (Fond du Lac, Wis./Winnebago Lutheran Academy).
Tyler Deetjen
(Saint Charles, Ill./East H.S.) suffered the loss (2-2) for
Valpo, starting and working two innings while allowing four runs on five
hits. Notre Dame starter Todd Miller
earned the win (2-0), allowing just one hit in two innings of work.
Connolly finished the game
3-for-5 for Notre Dame (19-22), with two doubles and a homer along with four
runs batted in. He was named the game’s
first Most Valuable Player. Gaedele was
the only Crusader with a multi-hit game.
Valparaiso (17-22) will return to action on Friday afternoon in Milwaukee, Wis.
as the Crusaders host the Panthers of Milwaukee. First pitch of the three-game weekend series
is set for 3 p.m.