(EASTLAKE, Ohio) — On Saturday afternoon, the Lake Erie College baseball team lost both games of its doubleheader against visiting Walsh. The first game, which went only seven innings, was won by the Cavaliers by a score of 5-3. And the second game, which went the full nine innings, was also won by Walsh, this time by a score of 12-2. The two losses put the Storm's record at 4-19 for the season, while Walsh improves to 21-8.

Game 1

Game 1 was a decently executed one for Lake Erie, but Walsh simply executed better, and it earned them the victory in the end. They got more length out of their starting pitcher than the Storm did, as Brant Alazaus went six innings, allowing three runs on six hits and no walks, getting the win. For the Storm, senior Ryan Middendorf started the game on the mound, going five innings and allowing five runs and seven walks, getting the loss. The most prominent of the Cavalier hits came in the top of the first inning, when first baseman Andrew Czech hammered a two-run home run to give Walsh the early advantage.

The Storm would battle back in the bottom of the second inning though, as catcher Scott Fernald's RBI double cut the deficit in half, and center fielder Nate Birtley's RBI single made things even at two. Then in the bottom of the third inning, left fielder Trace Peterson's solo dinger to left center put Lake Erie in front.

Walsh wasn't done though, with second baseman Ben Lefebvre hitting a two-run double in the top of the fourth inning for the Cavaliers to regain the lead. Then catcher Jarret Lyon's RBI single in the fifth inning gave Walsh a much-needed insurance run. In the bottom of the seventh, as Lake Erie still found themselves trailing by two runs, Walsh sent in Cole Brogan to shut things down, which he did, earning himself the save in this one.

Other notable performances by Lake Erie players include center fielder Nate Birtley going 2-3 with an RBI, and lefty Ryan Lally pitching two innings of no-hit ball out of the bullpen.

Game 2

Upon first glance, one would assume that Game 2 was much more one-sided than Game 1 in this doubleheader, as Walsh ended up winning by a double-digit margin. However, the majority of those runs were scored in the last three innings. Prior to that, it was really anyone's ballgame, as the score was tied at two throught six.

Walsh led off the scoring, as first baseman Andrew Czech's RBI double to center put the Cavaliers ahead in the first inning. But Lake Erie roared back in the second and third innings, with Nate Birtley and designated hitter Reed Collins each hitting RBI singles to center, resulting in a 2-1 Storm advantage. Walsh would tie things up in the top of the fourth inning, when catcher Jacob Beachy got home on a wild pitch. But then the offense on both sides would cool off for a few innings. However, to the disfortune of Lake Erie, while the Cavalier bats got hot once more at the end of the game, the Storm bats did not, resulting in a rather crooked final score.

In defense of the Storm, the team was short-handed due to COVID-19 restrictions. That caused head coach Gary Vaught to empty out his bullpen late in the game. He first turned to Tristan Mayer to relieve starter Chase Tompkins, who lasted three innings. Mayer fared well through three innings himself, before running into trouble in the top of the seventh, allowing across four additional runs. Nick Taylor pitched the eighth inning for Lake Erie, but he also gave up three runs. Then in the ninth inning, Mark Fischer was pulled after only getting one out, having allowed three more earned runs. Sam Browning, the starting third baseman, was moved to the bump to get the final two outs of the inning.

Four different Walsh players had multi-hit performances in this one: Brenden Spaulding, Andrew Czech, Joey Holiga, and Matt McGrath. However, two Storm batters also pulled off the same feat: Nate Birtley and Jacob Lozinski.

This ends a four-game series against Walsh for the Storm, with Lake Erie having gone 1-3. But they'll have to quickly regroup and prepare to take on visiting Trevecca Nazarene on Monday, as the two clubs will face off in a makeup doubleheader. The first game is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m.