(Gary, IN) Jeremy Ratajczyk celebrated his 20th birthday on Saturday by belting two home runs. Unfortunately, the Ashford Saints ruined the party by sweeping the doubleheader 13-8 and 15-3.

In game one, the Saints put three quick runs on the board in the first inning against starter Demetrios Pitsas (Munster, IN). But the Hawks countered in the bottom of the frame with three of their own. Ethan Arvay (Schererville, IN) doubled to right and later scored on a squeeze bunt by Alex Ramirez (Hammond, IN).

The Saints quickly retook the lead with a run in the second and then put the game out of reach with a six-run third that included a run-scoring double and a two-run double, two-run single, and an error in the frame. The Saints added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings on a home run by Matt Richard and a run-scoring double by Michael Bruns. The RedHawks fought back in the fifth inning to make the game interesting as Jesse Tomich (Hammond, IN) led off with a single. Alex Ramirez reached on an error by Michael Ray. Ratajczyk came up again and launched a three-run home run to make the score 12-6. Ashford came up with a run in the seventh inning, but the Hawks got two in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run single by Miguel Frausto (Hammond, IN) to close the game's scoring.

In the game, Nolan McNeill got the win for the Saints by firing a complete game. Alex Ramirez took the loss for the Hawks. Mike Ray went 3-for-4 with two doubles for Ashford and Adam Wojciehowski went 2-for-3 with two doublesand three runs batted in. Miguel Frausto collected three hits for the RedHawks while Nick Moore (Hammond, IN) collected two hits.Jeremy Ratajczyk (Griffith, IN) had two home runs and five runs batted in.

In game two, four errors cost the Hawks early and the Saints took full advantage. A run-scoring triple by Anthony Misitano gave the Saints a 1-0 lead and then catcher Jason Fletcher reached on a three-base error by Alex Ramirez. Fletcher later scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt Richard making the score 2-0 in the second. The Hawks scored in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly by Ethan Arvay scoring Ryan Halbe (Merrillville, IN). The Saints added five runs in the third on three RedHawk errors to make the score 7-1. Another five-run outburst in the sixth inning brought the score to 15-1. The RedHawks scored two in the bottom of the sixth making the final score 15-3.

Jason Fletcher smacked three hits to lead the Saints hit-parade. Matt Richard drove in three runs for the Saints while Mike Ray, Adam Wojciehowski, and Roman Davis each drove in two. Ethan Arvay, Corey Scott (Centerville, IN), Ryan Halbe, and Jesse Tomich each collected a hit for the RedHawks while Jesse Tomich drove in two runs.

The RedHawks are back in action on Tuesday April 13th as they travel to Deerfield, IL to take on the Trojans of Trinity International University in a doubleheader beginning at 1pm.

Story by:

Brain Snow