FRANKLIN, Wisconsin – Freshman Caleb Willert struck out nine and just one unearned run in a complete-game victory for the MSOE baseball team as it downed Aurora 9-1 in game two to earn a doubleheader split Tuesday afternoon at The Rock Complex.

The Raiders (12-11, 4-2 NACC) dropped the opener 8-3 before getting their offense going and taking down the Spartans (16-6, 4-2 NACC) in game two.

Willert (2-0) scattered three hits and two walks over 9.0 innings. The lone run came on a pair of first-inning errors while his three hits were distributed evenly through the game in the third, sixth, and ninth innings.

At the plate, five different players collected two hits while senior Owen Burnikel and freshman Julian Sonn had two hits and three RBIs each.

After Aurora opened the scoring in the first inning, the Raiders answered right back. Senior Ryan Newman led off with a double and scored when senior Jimmy Carrington followed with a single.

The duo got the ball rolling the next time through the lineup, as well, as the Red & White took the lead with two runs in the third inning. Newman led off with a single and Carrington followed with a double to drive him in. Then, two batters later, Sonn plated Carrington with a single.

MSOE extended its lead to 5-1 in the sixth inning with a two-out rally. Freshman Nick Stricker and junior Nick Gross drew back-to-back walks and Burnikel followed with a two-run triple.

The team then put the game out of reach with a four-run seventh inning. The first three batters of the frame reached to load the bases. Two batters later, Sonn drove in two runs with a single. Stricker followed with a single of his own and Gross had an RBI fielder's choice. Burnikel then drove in the final run with a single.

Aurora jumped out early in game one, plating a run in the first inning, two in the second, and a fourth run in the third before the Raiders got on the board. Newman and Carrington had back-to-back singles to get MSOE on the board. A single and walk loaded the bases before a Stricker walk forced in another run to make it 4-2.

The Spartans then seemingly put the game out of reach with another run in the fifth inning, followed by a three-run sixth inning to make it 8-2. A wild pitch in the eighth inning brought home a consolation run for the Raiders but that was as close as they would get.

Stricker, Gross, and senior Garrett Willems had two hits each in the game while Stricker reached four times with a pair of walks.

Freshman Brad Demkovich (2-1) suffered his first loss in the start with 5.0 innings of work. Freshman Noah Davison tossed an inning and sophomore Nathan Tremore pitched 3.0 innings to close out the game.

MSOE is back on the diamond this Saturday with a doubleheader vs. Marian.