Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

LISLE, Ill. - The Benedictine University baseball team concluded the regular season with a sweep of the Northern Athletics Conference leaders, Rockford College, to secure the second seed in next week's conference tournament.

GAME ONE: BENEDICTINE 3, ROCKFORD 1
Benedictine starter Mark Belcastro dodged trouble early and received enough supports as Benedictine took down Rockford in the opener to halt a 10-game win streak for the conference leaders.

Rockford grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Jimmy Dercks led off the game by drawing a walk and Kipton Bucey followed by being hit by a pitch to place runners at first and second. With one out Daryn Streed singled home the first run. Belcastro dodged further trouble with an inning ending double play.

Rockford had opportunities all game long but left 10 on base against Belcastro and the Benedictine bullpen. The Eagles took the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Tom Higgins posted a one-out single and Nick Karakosta was hit by a pitch. Tim Gindville roped a two-run double to right to put Benedictine ahead. Gindville drove home the final run of the game in the bottom of the fourth, lifting a sacrifice fly to score John Cervantes, who was hit by a pitch.

Belcastro battled through five innings to earn the win, improving to 8-0 on the season. The senior, who was honored before the game, walked five, struck out five, and hit two. Nick Diessner pitched three flawless frames in relief, allowing just one hit while striking out three. Shay Wagner pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save.

Benedictine managed just six hits in the victory. Karakosta was the lone player to post more than one hit in the contest, finishing 2-for-2 with a run scored.

With the Benedictine victory, Aurora earned the top seed in the conference tournament. Dan Zust's 15-game hitting streak came to a close in the victory.

GAME TWO: BENEDICTINE 8, ROCKFORD 1
The bats came to life in game two and the pitching was solid as well as Benedictine eased to the win, holding Rockford to just one hit and six on the day.

Benedictine opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning with a pair of runs. Uli Ortiz coaxed a walk and was sacrificed to second. Cervantes recorded an infield single. Higgins opened the scoring with a single to right, plating Ortiz. Karakosta stroked a double to left-center to drive home Cervantes but a miscommunication led to an inning ending double play on the base paths.

Another run crossed in the fourth to extend the margin to 3-0. Gindville posted a single to right moved up on a sacrifice and scored from second on a Tim Hendricks RBI single. Gindville helped make the score 4-0 with a single in the sixth. Pinch runner Billy Garrett crossed the plate on a Hendricks sacrifice fly.

While the offense was busy scoring, the pitching staff did not allow a single hit. Kevin Crowley worked through five no-hit innings, walking four and striking out two. Mike Irgang took over in the sixth and retired all eight batters he faced including two via strikeout. Spencer Lehmann and Matt Vucovich combined on the win.

Rockford broke through with a run in the eighth, finally posting a hit with two outs before Benedictine batted around in the bottom of the inning, scoring four times to post the win. Chris Wanderling stroked a two-run single in the frame while seniors Zust and Ortiz also drove home runs.

Zust, Ortiz, Cervantes, and Gindville all posted two hits in the second contest as Benedictine slugged 13.

Benedictine (26-14, 17-5) will continue its season at the Northern Athletics Conference Tournament on Thursday in Wisconsin. Benedictins is the second seed and will face fifth-seeded Edgewood at 4:00 p.m. at UW-Oshkosh. Marian University is the host with games being played at both Marian and UW-Oshkosh.