SCHAUMBURG, Ill. - The Rockford University baseball team dropped both its games on Saturday, 11-1 and 10-2, to the Dominican University Stars. The Regents struggled offensively all day recording just two hits in the opener and then leaving eleven runners on base in the nightcap. The deciding factor in the second game came in the fourth inning when Rockford committed two errors leading to seven unearned runs.
Rockford struggled to get anything going in game one against Dominican as the Regents trailed 7-0 after just three innings of play. The Stars blew the game wide open in the second inning when they scored five runs off six hits to jump out to a quick 6-0 advantage. Dominican would add one additional run in the third to take a seven-run lead before Rockford scored its only run of the game in the fourth. Following a walk and a hit batsman, Mitchell Gorsuch (Cherry Valley, Ill.) laced a two-out RBI single into left field to make it a 7-1 game. Unfortunately Rockford could not get any closer and ultimately fell by an 11-1 final.
After a disappointing loss in the opener, the Regents entered game two looking to salvage a split with the Stars. Following a Dominican run in the bottom of the first, Rockford tied the game in the top of the second with a run of its own. Kyle Rothrock (Utica, Ill.) and Patrick O'Malley (Elk Grove, Ill.) got the second inning started on a positive note with a walk and a single to give the Regents runners on first and second with just one out. Two batters later, Dalvin Ramos (Chicago, Ill.) came through with a clutch RBI double into left center, scoring Rothrock and tying the game at 1-1 after two.
The game would remain tied until the fourth when unfortunately things took a turn for the worse. The Stars used five hits in the inning and took advantage of two costly RU errors to score seven unearned runs to take a commanding 8-1 lead.
Rockford's final run of the day came in the top of the seventh when the Regents strung together back-to-back-to-back hits. Cole Logemann (Lena, Ill.) got things started with a one-out double, followed by a single through the left side of the infield by Bryce Hinkelman (Ottawa, Ill.). Designated hitter Jose Miranda (Yuma, Ariz.) followed with a single of his own, scoring Logemann and making it an 8-2 game. However, that would be as close as the Regents would get, falling by a final score of 10-2.
Logemann, O'Malley and Hinkelman all had solid performances at the plate in game two. Logemann led the charge going 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored, while O'Malley and Hinkelman tallied two hits apiece.
The RU baseball team returns to the diamond on Monday, April 17 at home against Concordia University Wisconsin. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 1:00 p.m. at Rivets Stadium.
