HORTON, TUPPER, AND YOUNG CONCLUDE CAREERS AGAINST AQUINAS

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. - It was an emotional day for the Warriors on Saturday, April 27, as the team parted ways with seniors Kaden Horton, Cameron Tupper, and Mason Young in their final games as Warriors against the Aquinas Saints over the weekend. The trio produced during the weekend for the Warriors, who were defeated during the series including a very close first game. 

GAME ONE - L, 4-5

The series' first game was an action-packed thriller that started with an RBI double from Young in the second inning to give the Warriors an early lead. Things remained 1-0 Warriors up until the fifth inning, where things fell apart for Rochester Christian as the Saints fired up with five runs. The Warriors began to build a comeback effort in the bottom of the fifth, with centerfielder Luke Jayaraman taking home after a Saints' error. Jayaraman made another big play in the sixth, hitting a double to left field to give Young a run. In the seventh, the Warriors nearly tied the game but lost in heartbreaking fashion, as Brendan DeFlorio hit a double to left, allowing Donovan Galovich to score a run before the Warriors' final runner was tagged out at home. 

GAME TWO - L, 7-21

The second game was a high-scoring affair, with the Saints starting things with two homers for three runs in the first inning. In the bottom, Jayaraman continued a great day with a home run to lead off the Warriors. RCU built off the momentum from there, with third baseman Marco Murillo hitting an RBI single in the second while Aidan Alspaugh and Jack LaRue tacked on two more RBI. Alspaugh hit another RBI in the fourth, giving Young another run to continue a fantastic final weekend. The Saints exploded for 12 runs in the fifth inning, putting the Warriors in a very tough spot to come back from. Reese Ungvarsky doubled in the final inning to give the Warriors one more run before the final out. 

GAME THREE - L, 6-18

Second baseman Lucas Bateman had a big game in the third installment of the series, hitting three while tagging on three RBI. Bateman secured the first run of the day for the Warriors on a passed ball and homered in the bottom of the third for two RBI to give the Warriors a 3-1 lead. The Saints responded emphatically, scoring at least three runs per inning the rest of the way. Bateman hit an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to give Young a third run on the weekend. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Ungvarsky and Tupper hit RBI singles to give the Warriors two more runs before the game's end. 

GAME FOUR - L, 7-16

The final game of the weekend was a big one for Tupper, who had a two-RBI double for LaRue and DeFlorio. Jayden Peterson singled the next at-bat to give Tupper a run. The Saints began to open things up in the third and fourth innings, beginning a massive run to take a commanding lead. After checking in, Horton logged the final strikeouts of his career in the fifth and sixth innings to the joy of the Warrior dugout. The Warriors added a run thanks to a sacrifice fly from Peterson in the bottom of the sixth, before scoring two more runs off an error by the Saints in the seventh inning. 

Hussein Murray - RCU Athletic Communications