LOVES PARK, Ill. – Behind a dominant pitching performance from Adam Eck, the Edgewood College baseball team won the first game of their NACC doubleheader on Saturday. Eck struck out 13 batters and allowed only three hits in a 5-1 victory. Rockford claimed the second game of the doubleheader 6-1.
In the opener, Eck had the Rockford University (11-11, 5-2 NACC) hitters off balance the entire game. The senior lefthander struck out at least one batter in every inning, and escaped a couple of jams early. The Eagles defense bailed Eck out of a bases loaded mess in the first inning with a ground ball double play started by Ryan Fields. Rockford got two of their three hits in the second inning, but Eck induced another ground ball. From that point on, the Rockford managed just one more hit in the sixth, which resulted in the Regents' only run of the game.
On offense, the Eagles pushed across one run in the first on an RBI single by Alex Fowler, and added another in the fifth inning on Nick Cheaney's single to the right field corner. The Eagles added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth on a throwing error by the Regents, a Casey Willis RBI single and sacrifice fly by Josh Ottum.
Garrett Bogucki had a big game, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, while catching for Eck's 13 strikeouts. Bryan Sternig scored twice and stole a base in each game giving him 15 for the year.
However, the Eagles struggled to muster an offensive punch in the second game. Fowler doubled and scored in the sixth, but Rockford posted four runs in the seventh to put the game out of reach. Fowler had a strong game with three hits including a double and a stolen base. Mason Maziarka pitched 6.1 innings and allowed three earned runs. AJ Weedon and Will Mossa wrapped up the game on the mound for the Eagles.
Edgewood College will play an alternate site home doubleheader on Sunday while Stampfl Field dries out. The Eagles will host MSOE at UW-Whitewater's Prucha Field at Jim Miller Stadium at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. UW-Whitewater will charge $5 admission per person. There will be no live stream of the games, only live statistics available at EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com/coverage.
