Munster Tops Lowell

Throughout the night, both teams had numerous opportunities to put runs on the board; however, with some mishaps, both offensively and defensively, the outcome would be a coin flip until late in the second inning. Lowell jumped out to an early 2-0, with the help of some fielding errors and timely hitting. Mike Hillbrich (2013: uncommitted) singled in a run in the first and starting pitcher Jake Fontanez (2013: uncommitted) singled in a run in the second. From there, Munster lit up the scoreboard in the 2nd.

 

Senior Mark Strbjak helped get Munster going with a solo home run over the right field fence, cutting the lead to one. Munster followed with a walk by Scott Crilly (2012: uncommitted), then a hit by Mike Mueller (2013: uncommitted), and single by Craig Dedelow (2013: uncommitted) to tie the game at 2 a piece. After a hit by pitch to Senior Collin Mudroncik, Chris Slivka (2012: Emory) notched in a double, driving in three runs, jumping out to a three run lead 5-2. They would add on two more runs in the 2nd, off the bats of Seniors Ethan Flahaven (2012: uncommitted) and Scott Jerge (2012: Valparaiso).

 

With the game score at 7-2, pitcher Scott Crilly (2012: uncommitted) would pace Munster until the early part of the 6th inning, going 5 2/3IP, striking out three, while giving up three earned runs. Things got under control defensively for Lowell when Junior Danny Deboer (2013: uncommitted) toed the rubber in the 3rd. Deboer went 5IP, giving up one hit, striking out four, while not giving up a run.

 

The game got close in the 6th, behind a few walks, and an untimely error for Munster, cutting the lead to 7-5. Once pitcher Alex Crowe (2013: uncommitted) came in the game for Munster, things seemed to settled down; thus, swinging the momentum in Munster's favor. Crowe would pitch a perfect 7th, to seal the victory for Munster.

Final: Munster 7 Lowell 5 

 

Surprising Player of the Game: Junior Pitcher Alex Crowe (2013) of Munster. He was 82-84mph in limited action, with great control, striking out 3 in 1 1/3IP. He commanded his fastball early, while heating up late in the 7th, topping out at 84mph. An interesting kid to follow, given his physical make-up and live arm.