Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Faced with a quick turnaround the John Carroll University baseball team needed to adjust its approach as well in having two 7-inning games at Denison University in Granville, Ohio on Sunday. John Carroll had not played a 7-inning game since its trip to Florida at the beginning of March.
 
The Blue Streaks adjusted quickly coming out of the gate hot in game one. JCU was unable to keep the offensive momentum in the second game splitting with Denison. John Carroll won game one 8-1 and dropped game two 3-0.
 
John Carroll is now 19-14 while Denison is 18-16.
 
Game One
Knowing it needed to have a strong start with the 7-inning format John Carroll did just that scoring six runs and tallying seven hits in the first three innings to cruise to the 8-1 win.

"We told them (our players) to be very aggressive on the fastball," said head coach Marc Thibeault. "Their pitcher was on three days rest so there was a chance his fastball could have a little bit of flatness to it. Our guys picked up on it and really utilized the middle of the field on the line which resulted in runs. It was good to see."
 
Mitchell Herringshaw started the hit parade with a leadoff single to start the game. The senior advanced to third on a single by Chet Lauer and would score the game's first run on a RBI groundout by Jimmy Spagna. The Blue and Gold would add a second run in the inning as Lauer came across on a Big Red error.
 
The offense clicked with one out in the third inning pushing four runs across to open up the 5-run lead. Bobby Sabatino started the rally with a single to right. Spagna pushed the first two runs of the frame across blasting a 1-out double to left center scoring Sabatino and Lauer. Tyler Gentile and David Crowley followed suit with RBI singles in the inning.
 
The Blue Streaks kept up the pressure in the fourth and fifth innings loading the bases in both stanzas. Big Red reliever Charlie Binford was able to work out of the jams getting Gentile to fly out to right to end the fourth and Sabatino to ground out to second to end the fifth.
 
Denison scored its lone run in the first inning as the Big Red jumped on junior Andrew Doring with two hits in the first inning.
 
Doring settled in cruising through the next five innings. The righty worked into a jam in the seventh loading the bases but was able to induce a groundout to finish the complete game. Doring improved to 2-2 on the season allowing six hits while striking out seven.

"(He had) a lot of strike ones," said Thibeault. "That was the key. I think there was only one walk and it was the second guy of the game. He controlled both sides of the plate and his curveball was really working. He did a nice job."
 
Lauer, who was involved in four big defensive plays at Marietta on Saturday continued to stay hot defensively. The senior helped turn a strikeout-throw out double play in the fifth inning. For the game, JCU turned two double plays with the first coming in the first inning.
 
John Carroll added two more runs in the seventh inning on a Robby Cifelli single and Herringshaw sacrifice fly.
 
For the game John Carroll enjoyed a 12-6 advantage on hits. Four Blue Streaks finished with multiple hits in the game.
 
Game Two
Trying again to work its last inning magic John Carroll threatened to make noise in the seventh inning sending the tying run to the plate. For the third time in the last four games the Blue Streaks were unable to finish the comeback.
 
Mark Huddle led off the seventh inning with a single. Down to its last out Cifelli beat out an infield single to extend the inning. Big Red closer Ryan Mulligan bore down and struck out Herringshaw to end the game.
 
The Blue Streaks looked primed to get on the scoreboard in the fifth inning. Huddle led off the inning with a walk and moved up on Gentile's single. JCU loaded the bases with a 1-out walk to Cifelli but Denison was able to walk the tightrope out of its third bases loaded jam of the day.
 
Spagna (1-2) ran into a jam in the second game allowing a leadoff walk in the first inning. Charlie Apfelbach came in to score the game's first run in the first inning on a 6-3 double play.
 
The Big Red added their second run of the game in the second inning on Evan Flax's sacrifice fly.
 
Denison loaded the bases on junior Anthony Libertini in the fourth inning. The righty induced the 4-3 double play to work out of the jam.
 
John Carroll struggled to get going offensively with Jacob Schriner recorded the Blue and Gold's first hit of the game in the third inning. For the game the Blue Streaks were held to just four hits.
 
John Carroll is scheduled to play Case Western Reserve on Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Progressive Field. Tickets to the game are free and tickets to the game are required. To download your free ticket to print out click HERE. For complete details on the game at Progressive Field click HERE.