ELMHURST, Ill. – Ben Havel blasted a walk-off home run to left field to lead the Elmhurst baseball team to a 5-4 win over Dominican University in 12 innings.
 
Elmhurst (9-17) raced out to a 3-0 lead but had to rally in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings before Havel connected in the 12th inning to win the contest.
 

The Bluejays grabbed a 3-0 lead by plating three runs in the third inning.  An RBI grounder from Brett Bayer scored Matt Conroy for the first run of the game. Havel and Edgar Ross added two-out RBI singles in the inning to give Elmhurst a three-run cushion.
 
Mike Rostine sailed through the first five innings before running into trouble in the sixth. RBI doubles from Richie Green and Nathaniel Natividad let the Stars pull even in the sixth. A bases loaded walk to Joe Kukla forced in a run to give Dominican a 4-3 lead.
 
Dominican (10-16) held the one-run lead until the ninth inning. After a leadoff single and error moved Bayer to second base, Brandon Kressner singled him home to even the score at 4-4.

The game remained even at four until the bottom of the 12th when Havel blasted a one-out solo homer to left field to propel the Bluejays to the win.
 
Havel finished the contest 3-for-6 with two runs scored and two RBI. Ross also swung a hot bat for the Bluejays, finishing 4-for-5 at the plate. Kressner added three hits with a run scored and an RBI while Conroy and Bayer totaled two hits apiece in the victory.
 
Erik Swanson recorded the win in relief for the Bluejays, tossing the final 5.2 innings and allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out three. Quinten Hayes took the loss for Dominican, surrendering two hits and one run in 2.1 innings of work.
 
Elmhurst hosts Benedictine University on Thursday, April 16, at 6:00 p.m.