Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The John Carroll University baseball team had not started 4-0 in OAC play since 1998. Marc Thibeault was a senior pitcher and outfielder for the Blue Streaks.
 
Now in his 15th season at the helm of his alma mater, Thibeault's Blue Streaks ran their conference record to 4-0 with a sweep over Wilmington behind sophomore Brandon Maddern's shutout in the second game. John Carroll improved to 10-6 overall and ran its current win streak to six games with the 11-2, 9-0 sweep.
 
Game One
Sophomore Aaron Lapaglia won his fourth straight start, the John Carroll offense erupted for 11 runs and the Blue Streaks dominated the Fightin' Quakers from start to finish winning 11-2.
 
Lapaglia turned in eight innings on the afternoon and has now pitched at least eight innings in three of his last four starts. The sophomore only allowed two runs.
 
John Carroll struck first with a 3-run second inning. David Crowley came in to score the game's first run on a Fightin' Quaker error. Known for manufacturing runs by playing small ball, Robby Cifelli came through with a sacrifice fly to drive in Mark Huddle. Reining OAC Hitter of the Week Bobby Sabatino laced a single to drive in Jake Miller for the inning's third run.
 
Mark Huddle hit his second double of the contest in the fourth inning and would score on a wild pitch to make it 4-0. Later in the inning Sabatino connected on a double to bring Cifelli in and give the Blue and Gold a 5-run lead.

"Being 4-0 is great but there are no 4-0 trophies," said Thibeault. "Each day is a grind in this league. As long as we focus on the process we will get the results."
 
JCU did the majority of its damage with a 5-run ninth inning. Sabatino laced his third hit of the afternoon to bring Cifelli in. Two batters later Spagna added his second homer of the year. The Blue Streaks wrapped up their scoring with doubles from Chet Lauer, Tyler Gentile and a single by Huddle.
 
Six Blue Streaks finished the first game with multiple hits led by Huddle, Sabatino and Spagna who each finished with three.

Said Thibeault, "We had a decent day at the plate. We did a good job of putting the ball in play with runners in scoring position. We have been working hard in batting practice with trying to shorten our swings and it showed today. We still need to get better in this area."
 
Game Two
Maddern continued his domination on the hill turning in JCU's first complete game shutout since Paul O'Donnell fired 10 scoreless innings against Muskingum in 2009. The OAC Pitcher of the Week has not allowed an earned run over his last two starts covering 17 innings of work.
 
The 6-9 lefty started the day striking out the side in the first inning. He would finish with a career-best 10 strikeouts.

"Maddern was very effective on both sides of the plate," said Thibeault. "He pitched ahead and pitched off of his fastball. Right now he is in a good rhythm with his ability to repeat his mechanics effectively."
 
David Lykens brought in the game's first run after Spagna single to start the second inning. The Blue Streaks would jump out to a 3-0 be the end of the inning with RBI singles from Miller and Cifelli.
 
John Carroll continued the high-powered offense in the third inning. Lykens drove in his second run of the game with a single. Huddle added two more runs with his fourth hit of the day to make it a 6-0 lead.
 
The Blue and Gold added two more runs in the fourth to make it an 8-0 lead. Lauer added the big hit of the inning with a 2-run double to score Sabatino and Spagna.
 
Update: The home baseball game on Tuesday, April 1 has been moved to Ohio Wesleyan. First pitch will remain at 4 p.m. Additionally, the game at Denison on Wednesday, April 2 has been canceled due to scheduling conflicts.