Watertown, Minn. — Crown baseball improved to 9-7 this spring with a doubleheader sweep against Martin Luther, a conference opponent in non-conference play. They had no trouble scoring against the Knights, scoring a combined 27 runs in two games while only allowing 4. 

In game one, the star of the match was Harry Ballantyne, who tied Crown's record for most hits in a game after he went 5/5 in the contest. Ballantyne had four singles and a double, three RBIs and two runs in the blowout victory. 

Crown scored an impressive 11 runs in the first inning, giving pitcher JT Adams plenty of run support. Adams pitched six innings and only allowed three hits and no runs. Jonathan Matity pitched the last inning, striking out two of his three batters to finish the game. 

Also batting well in the game, Dalton Wintersole had two hits including a double. Wintersole ended the game with three RBIs and a run. Left fielder Gideon Dunn also had two hits with three RBIs, including a double himself. Dunn went 2/2 with a walk in the game. Crown had seven seperate players with RBIs as the team won 14-0.

In the second game, Martin Luther got off to an early lead after a home run in the first put the Knights up 2-0. Unforuntatley for the Knights, that lead promptly dissapeared by the end of the second inning, when Crown scored a quick four runs to put the Storm up 5-2. Crown's consistant run  production throughout the rest of the game kept the lead growing, ending 13-4 in Crown's favor. 

Outfielder Harry Ballantyne started out with a hit, elevating his hit streak to six before fouling out in the third inning. Shortstop Kress Medina hit a two-run blast for his second homer of the season in the sixth inning. Kyle Umperovitch and Luke Meyer both had stellar performances, as each had a single and two doubles. Wintersole led the team with three RBIs in the game. 

Pitcher Trey Widmier recovered from the early home run well, pitching the next five innings with no earned runs. He only allowed five hits and struck out five along the way. 

Crown baseball next plays on Saturday away against North Central for their first conference games of the season.