Baseball Blanks St. Francis in Opener

Baseball made their first trip to Joliet, Illinois, in program history to take on St. Francis in a three-game weekend set. The Tigers took the opener, 5-0, behind a complete-game effort from Kaden Crawford. 

Pitching controlled the first four innings of play as neither team scored. Doane started the fifth inning with a pair of hits and a sacrifice bunt to put runners at second and third with one out. Taiyo Takahashi delivered a sacrifice fly to plate Johnny Vulcano for the game's first run.

The Tigers scored three runs in the sixth inning. Logan Amick led the inning off with a double and scored on a single by Justin Nevells. Nevells scored on a double by Brayden Jones. Vulcano doubled to plate pinch runner Gage Ryba for a 4-0 lead. In the seventh inning, Takahashi scored on a fielder's choice.

Crawford went 7.0 innings, allowing four hits while striking out six batters. He retired the last 10 batters he faced and needed only 77 pitches in the win.

Doane had nine hits in the game, including five doubles. Vulcano was 2-for-3 with two doubles, a run scored, and a RBI. Amick was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. 

Game two between the Tigers and Saints started 30 minutes following the conclusion of the opener.