Baseball team earns doubleheader split with Alma
The Olivet College baseball team split a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) doubleheader with Alma College this afternoon at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet. Backed by a complete game pitching performance from junior Jake Ball (Cadillac), the Comets rallied to beat the Scots, 2-1. Alma won the nightcap, 5-1.
Olivet has now split each of its first three MIAA doubleheaders
OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College baseball team split a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) doubleheader with Alma College this afternoon at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet. Backed by a complete game pitching performance from junior Jake Ball (Cadillac), the Comets rallied to beat the Scots, 2-1. Alma won the nightcap, 5-1.
The first game was a pitcher's duel between Ball and Alma's Jose Velez for the first six innings. The Scots broke up the shutout by scoring a run in the top half of the seventh. Olivet answered with a two-out rally to plate two runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Sophomore Joey Myers (Lansing/Holt) led off with a single and went to second on a groundout. Junior Dylan Betcher (Lansing/Everett) came into the game to run for Myers. After a strikeout, sophomore Peter Panos (Davison) walked. A balk moved both runners up one base. Junior Joel Peters (Auburn Hills/Avondale) lined a ball up the middle to score Betcher with the tying run and advance Panos to third. Off a batted ball by sophomore Beau Langs (Climax/Climax-Scotts), the Alma shortstop misplayed the ball to allow Panos to score the winning run.
For the game, both teams had only three hits each. Besides Myers' and Peters' hits in the seventh, senior Randy Young (Wixom/Walled Lake Western) was the only other Comet with a base hit. Ball improved to 3-0 on the season with his performance. He struck out six and walked only one.
In the second game, the Scots scored a run in the top half of the second inning. Olivet answered with a run in its half of the inning when sophomore Drew Thompson (Canton/Salem) hit a triple to score sophomore Conner Magro (Bridgman). Alma grabbed the lead back with one run in the third, one more run in the fourth and two runs in the fifth.
Offensively, the Comets had seven hits, including a 3-for-3 performance for Thompson. On the mound, senior Jay Magro (Bridgman) picked-up the loss. He gave up three runs on six hits in the first four innings.
The Comets will take a break from MIAA play and travel to Rochester for a 3:30 p.m. game tomorrow against Oakland University.