FORT WAYNE, Ind. – In game one, Lawrence Tech came up just short, falling to Indiana Tech 2-1 in a seven-inning game after the hosts scored early and held off a late Blue Devils push. The decisive damage came in the first two innings and Lawrence Tech could not fully erase the deficit despite cutting it to one in the sixth.
Indiana Tech took a 1-0 lead in the first inning after a double to left to bring home a run. In the second, a bases-loaded walk extended the lead to 2-0. Those were the only runs allowed by Lawrence Tech starter
Dominic Miller, who worked 4.0 innings, gave up three hits and two earned runs, struck out five and took the loss.
The Blue Devils stayed within striking distance behind clean defense and steady pitching. Lawrence Tech finished without an error and limited Indiana Tech to three hits, while the staff combined for five strikeouts over 6.0 innings. Miller kept the game from getting away early, and the bullpen held Indiana Tech scoreless over the final two innings to give the offense a chance.
That opportunity came in the sixth.
Drew Schornak reached on a walk and later scored on a ground out by
Ty Schornak, trimming the margin to 2-1 and giving Lawrence Tech life late.
Andrew Merz led the Blue Devils offensively with two hits in three at-bats as Lawrence Tech finished with five hits and left four runners on base.
The result reflected a tight, low-scoring game throughout, with Lawrence Tech answering after a quiet first five innings but unable to find the tying run in the seventh. The Blue Devils had the tying run within reach late before Indiana Tech closed out the 2-1 final.
In game two, Indiana Tech broke open a close game with a four-run fifth inning and added two more runs in the sixth, defeating Lawrence Tech 7-3. The Blue Devils carried an early lead into the middle innings, but Indiana Tech's five-run surge turned the game and provided the decisive stretch.
Lawrence Tech struck first in the top of the first.
Ty Schornak scored on a
Justin Baird ground out, and the unearned run gave the Blue Devils a 1-0 advantage. Lawrence Tech added another run in the fourth when
Andrew Merz doubled and later came home on a wild pitch, extending the lead to 2-0.
Indiana Tech answered in the fifth and did most of its damage there. Indiana Tech pushed the margin to 6-1 in the sixth with a bases-loaded walk and a run scored on a wild pitch.
The Blue Devils finished with four hits and left four runners on base. Baird accounted for one of the key late moments with a two-out ground-rule double in the ninth, and
Brady Lee followed with an RBI ground out that trimmed the final margin to 7-3. Lawrence Tech also got a stolen base and two doubles in the game.
Indiana Tech added an insurance run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly. Indiana Tech totaled 10 hits and worked six walks. On the mound, Indiana Tech limited Lawrence Tech to one earned run over nine innings. Lawrence Tech pitchers allowed 10 hits and seven runs, six earned, while issuing six walks.
