The Malone University baseball team relied on solid pitching and some timely hitting to extend its win streak to eight straight games with a doubleheader sweep of Lake Erie College on a frigid Sunday afternoon at Jackson High School.
 
The Pioneers topped the Storm 3-2 in the nine-inning opener and then used a complete game shutout by Tommy Walker in a 5-0 victory in game two. With the wins, Malone improved to 18-10 on the season and 8-4 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Lake Erie, meanwhile, dropped to 11-11 on the year and 5-5 in the G-MAC.
 
Game One Recap
On a day where wind chills were in the mid-teens, the Pioneers saw themselves down 1-0 in the top of the second inning but quickly responded with two runs in the bottom half of the frame. With two outs and Matt Noel, who doubled to lead off the inning, on third base, sophomore centerfielder Jacob Mottice jumped on a fastball for a two-run blast down the line in right field. The homerun was Mottice's third of the season.
 
Malone maintained its 2-1 lead until the top of the sixth when the Storm used a solo homer to tie it at 2-2. The Pioneers battled back to score what would ultimately be the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh. Jacob Mottice led off the frame with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and came in to score on an RBI single by twin brother Cade Mottice.
 
Sophomore reliever Clay Cooper (2-1) earned the victory after tossing three scoreless innings to end the game. Cooper surrendered just one hit and posted three strikeouts. Starting pitcher Christian Specht pitched well in a no-decision, allowing two earned runs over six innings while recording five strikeouts.
 
Game Two Recap
Junior starting pitcher Tommy Walker (3-0) lowered his G-MAC-leading ERA to 1.53 with a seven-inning shutout. Walker was super-efficient in the complete game effort, throwing just 75 pitches, including 56 for strikes. He allowed just four hits (all singles) and tallied three strikeouts in the victory.
 
Malone scored its first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning when Tyson Gingerich, who walked to lead off the inning and later stole second, advanced to third on a fly ball out and alertly scored when Lake Erie dropped the throw back in towards the infield.
 
Another Storm error in the fifth led to Malone's second run before the Pioneers closed out the scoring with three runs in the sixth. With runners on first and second, Jacob Mottice crushed his second homer of the day to lead Malone to the 5-0 victory.
 
Austin White collected two of Malone's six hits and scored two runs. Turner Hill added a double.
 
Up Next
Malone and Lake Erie will finish off their four-game series with a doubleheader on Monday, April 1st. Originally scheduled to be played on the road, Monday's games will now be played at Jackson High School beginning at 1:00 pm due to snow in northeast Ohio.