MADISON – The first swing Madison Edgewood’s Connor Cosgorve took of the 2009 season was nothing but sweet.

He’s probably waiting for a “Yeah for a nine-hole hitter,” but it’s not coming.

The hitter at the bottom of the Edgewood order homered in the top of the second inning over the left-center field to open the flood gates.

It was just the start of a 14-0 win in Game 2 of a nonconference doubleheader Tuesday against Appleton West that followed a 6-3 victory in the season opener for both teams at Warner Park in Madison.

“It was my first swing of the year,” Cosgrove said. “It was a high-inside fastball and I just turned on it and made good contact with it.

“It felt great. I’ve been missing baseball. Spring is always a great time of the year.

Cosgrove went 1 for two with the three-run bomb for the three RBIs. He also scored three runs. The guy hitting in front of him, Zach Scherschel went 2 for 3 with three RBI, three runs scored and a double as well.

“(Connor) is a guy we are going to count on as a good hitter for us, but he had been struggling a bit,” Edgewood coach Rich Newton said. “We just said, ‘Hey, we’re going to give you a shot in the nine-spot. Hopefully you see some pitches you can do something with. He didn’t disappoint.”

Christian Wabers was in control in the nightcap, allowing just one hit in the five-inning victory for the top-ranked team in the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Division 2 preseason poll.

Game 1 was of the hard fought variety for the Crusaders (2-0) who trailed 2-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning before four hits paved the way for a five-run inning.

“I was proud of the guys to battle through,” Newton said. “They found a way to overcome things.

“The second game they were comfortable and relaxed and let their abilities take over on the field.”

The Terrors (0-2) showed signs of life in the first game, but just didn’t have enough late.

“My message to these guys at the end of the night was we’re not good enough to not catch balls, to have balls get passed us and throw balls around a little bit,” West coach Brad Borchardt said. “We can’t commit those errors and expect to do good things.”

Notes: West’s Cullen Buchanon was 2 for 4  with 2 RBI in Game 1. … Wabers was 2 for 3 with a two-run double for Edgewood in Game 1 while Chris Ritter was 2 for 4 with a double and later scored in the opener of which he was also the winning pitcher. … The Crusaders had innings of five and seven runs in the two games, brining 11 and 12 batters to the plate, respectively.

Game 1

APPLETON WEST……....….000 200 1—3 3 1

MADISON EDGEWOOD……..010 050 x—6 6 5

Pitching: AW—Kyle Meyer (L, 0-1) 4 IP, 7 K, 7 BB, 3 H, 4 ER; Chris Searl 2 IP, K, 2 BB, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER; ME—Chris Ritter (W, 1-0) 5 IP, 11 K, 5 BB, 2 HB, 2 R, 0 ER; Nick Hughes IP, 3 BB; Robert Parman IP, K. Leading hitters: AW—Cullen Buchanan 2-4, 2 RBI; ME—Christian Wabers 2-3, 2 RBI, 2B; Chris Ritter 2-4, 2B, RBI, R.

Game 2

MADISON EDGEWOOD……..040 37—14 9 2

APPLETON WEST…..…………000 00—0 1 1

Pitching: ME—Christian Wabers (W, 1-0) 5 IP, 6 K, 2 BB, HB. AW—Tyler Monnenbach (L, 0-1) 3 IP, 3 K, 4 BB, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER; B.J. Hardy IP, 2 K, 3 BB, H, 4 R, 4 ER; Joe McGuire IP, 2 BB, HB, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER. Leading hitters: ME—Zach Scherschel 2-3, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2B; Connor Cosgrove 1-2, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R; Chris Ritter 1-3, 2 RBI, R, SB; Nick Hughes 1-3, 2 RBI, 2B. AW—Billie Collins 1-2.