The Aquinas baseball team has seen its share of ups and downs this spring.

This past week the Saints traveled to Adrian, Mich. and took on conference opponent Siena Heights (8-14, 10-24).

AQ split the two games on Monday losing the first game 5-2 and winning the second 3-0 behind the pitching of Michael Giddings, who threw a complete game shut out allowing just one hit and striking out five.

On April 15, Siena came to Grand Rapids for another double header at Kimble Stadium.

On this day Siena Heights got the best of the Saints, winning both games 7-2 and 8-2 respectively.

After losing three out of four conference games in just two days the Saints season looked to be in jeopardy.

However, the team was able to bounce back.

The Saints defeated non-conference foe Rochester College the very next day.

In the first game the Saints were led by freshmen left fielder Kennen Less who went 2-for-4 in the game with two RBIs. Junior third baseman Paul Nieves went 2-for-3 with a two-run homerun and freshmen Jake VanderKolk hit a three-run walk-off homerun to seal the 11-1 victory.

In the second game the Saints kept it hot with an 8-1 win led by center fielder Chris Atkin who went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs scored.

“These were much needed wins for us. We need to get hot and finish the
regular season strong,” said Less.

Although the wins over Rochester won’t affect the conference standings, they move the Saints record to 14-23 overall.

More importantly for the team, the wins over Rochester give the team some much needed momentum as they head for the daunting conference schedule.

“All of our upcoming conference games are huge for us,” Less said.

The Saints take on conference rival Madonna this weekend.

They look to finish the season strong on April 25 and 26 against Indiana Tech.

The WHAC Tournament begins May 1, times have not yet been announced.

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Detroit’s reputation as being the car capital of the world has earned it the nickname of the “Motor City.” A title that brings with it one of the most important auto shows in the world. Detroit’s North American International Auto Show is not the biggest in number of cars, however it has always been the most important show for car makers.

Each year, companies release some of their biggest designs at the Detroit show. 2008 was no different.

This year, some of the biggest releases were the new Ford F150 pickup truck, which is seen by car enthusiasts as one of the most substantial cars of the year, and the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. AutoWeek magazine awarded the ZR1 its “Best-In-Show Award” as voted on by their writers and other affiliates. As expected, the ZR1 drew quite a crowd with its bold design, most noticeably the carbon fiber hood window directly over the engine.

Other car makers got in the mix too with some bold new releases. Jeep unleashed its Renegade concept, while Audi released a brand new concept of its own. Bentley and Rolls Royce both introduced new convertible models to their luxurious line-ups and MINI brought out a new three-door extended model of the Cooper.

One of the hottest cars at the show was Jay Leno’s personal corvette, a one of a kind model designed and built by Pratt and Miller, who before now only worked on racing vehicles.

The Pratt and Miller version boasts 100 more horsepower than its Ferrari competitor, and while currently Leno’s is the only in existence, Pratt and Miller associates say that they plan to release around 25 of the supercars. So if you think you want one, you better place an order now.

The 2008 show was a very successful one, but that doesn’t mean it was all glorious.

First, there weren’t enough new flashy cars that everyone loves to look at.

Second, Land Rover was supposed to show an all new concept vehicle, but unfortunately they removed the car before the public got a chance to look at it. So if you weren’t there during Press Week, then you missed out on a car that was sure to get a lot of hype.

Finally, what frustrated me the most, was the absence of Aston Martin. In years past, Aston Martin has shown off their sporty yet luxurious cars such as the DB9 and the Vanquish. Unfortunately this year, Aston Martin did not even participate in the show.

Even with these minor setbacks, the 2008 North American International Auto Show was pretty good. There have been better shows in the past, and there are sure to be better shows in the future, but every show is a good show when you’re a car lover.

The Aquinas men’s basketball team entered this season with high expectations. The Saints are looking to achieve great success in the non-conference schedule and ultimately plan on winning the WHAC.

On Nov. 3, the Saints took the first step toward achieving their goals by notching their first win of the season by defeating the Judson Eagles by the score of 69-64 at Judson. The Saints featured a balanced attack with three different players reaching double- digit point totals.

Leading the way was sophomore guard John Lierman with 24 points and eight rebounds.

Along with Lierman were Aquinas’ main offensive threats; junior forward Pedja Lazic with 18 points and seven rebounds and senior Guard James Telman who chipped in 13 points. Guards Jeff Wierzbicki (senior) and Jordan Torres (junior) also added five and three points, respectively.

On Friday, the Saints traveled to Goshen, Ind. to participate in the two-day Goshen Tournament. In the Saints’ first game, Aquinas went up against Cardinal Stritch and came out on top. The Saints however, had to work hard for the win, as the game went into overtime before they prevailed 84-74.

On Saturday night, Aquinas faced host team Goshen College, and once again the Saints had to work hard to earn a victory.

“We didn’t play as well as we wanted to in either of the games,” said freshman forward Jason Hill. “But we were able to stick around and we never quit. Then when it came down to crunch time we found a way to win.”

The Saints found themselves up against the wall, trailing by eight with 1:20 left on the clock. But with under a minute to go, Telman came up with a key steal and then hit a 3-point shot in the ensuing possession to give Aquinas a one point lead.Later in the contest, with just two seconds left on the clock, junior Guard Jordan Torres hit a shot to give the Saints a 65-62 win over Goshen and clinch the tournament championship.

Leading the way for the Saints throughout thetournament were sophomore guard John Lierman, who was named First Team All-Tournament, and Lazic, who brought home tournament MVP honors.

The Saints take four victories into the Hall of Fame Classic over Thanksgiving weekend. There, the Saints will get the chance see rival Cornerstone for the first time this year, in addition to Calvin and Hope.

The Saints play their first game Nov. 23 at 6 p.m. against Hope. All games will be played at Cornerstone.