DUBUQUE, Iowa – The University of Dubuque baseball team completed a sweep of North Park University with a 4-2 victory on Saturday. The Spartans were aided by timely hitting and strong pitching in the Alumni Day victory.
North Park started the scoring in the second inning when their nine-hole grounded into a fielder's choice, scoring a run. The Spartans took the lead for good in the third inning thanks to a walk from Vic Pico, a hit by pitch from Ryan Turner, an RBI double play from Will Sullivan, and an RBI single from Zavion Ingram. Pico executed a safety squeeze an inning later, bringing home Justin Potts and giving the Spartans a 3-1 lead. The Vikings threatened in the fifth inning, but Angel Reyes struck out the final two batters of the inning to strand a pair. The Spartans tacked on in the seventh inning when Alex Esser and Sullivan reached base and Donald Kennedy drove a single to advance them, allowing Esser to score on a wild pitch. North Park scored one in the eighth inning, but couldn't find any footing offensively after that and the Spartans secured a 4-2 victory.
The Spartans collected seven hits on Saturday. Potts went 2-3 with a walk and three stolen bases, scoring once. Esser went 1-2 with a walk and scored twice. Pico, Ingram, Kennedy, and Jack Richards all collected hits on Saturday.
Shae Buskohl started for the Spartans, throwing three innings, allowing one unearned run and two hits while walking one and striking out three. Angel Reyes struck out six batters across three innings of work, allowing no hits and no walks. Tanner Simmons pitched two innings of one-run ball after Reyes, giving up one hit and one walk while striking out three. Dominic Pelizza earned the save by facing the minimum in the ninth inning. All in all, the Spartans struck out 13 batters on Saturday.
Up Next
The Spartans will host Edgewood University tomorrow for a nine-inning game, with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m.
