Baseball: Olivet splits MIAA-opening doubleheader against Alma

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College baseball team opened Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play by splitting a doubleheader against Alma College today at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet. Behind a complete game, three-hit pitching performance by junior Colin Boak, the Comets won the first game 4-1. The Scots salvaged the split with a 3-1 victory in game two.

In the opener, Olivet manufactured a run in the bottom half of the first inning. Freshman Luke Spotts led off the inning with a single, stole second and scored on back-to-back ground outs. The Scots leveled the score at 1-1 with a run in the top half of the second.

The Comets took the lead back with a single tally in the third inning when sophomore Zach Kitzmiller hit an RBI-double to score senior Drew Thompson. Olivet added two insurance runs in the fifth inning. Spotts singled and then went to second on an infield single by senior Beau Langs.

Thompson's successful sacrifice bunt moved both runners up one base. Alma was trying to intentionally walk Kitzmiller when a thrown ball sailed high above the catcher for a wild pitch, scoring Spotts from third and advancing Langs to third base. After a pitching change, senior Jonny Zawacki hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Langs.

The leadoff batter for the Scots reached base in the sixth inning but Boak got out of the inning with a double play. Alma also had a base runner in the seventh before Boak got the last out on a strikeout.

Olivet finished the game with eight total hits. Junior Stephen Botti went 2-for-2 with two doubles. Spotts also had two hits, while Kitzmiller drove in two runs. Boak threw 116 pitches to earn his first win of the season. He struck out seven batters.

The Comets jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the second game with a run in the first inning. Spotts led off with a double to the right-center field gap. Langs reached on an infield single to move Spotts to third base. Thompson then delivered an RBI-single to plate Spotts.

Alma scored a pair of unearned runs in the fourth inning to go up 2-1. Olivet had chances to score runs in the bottom half of the fourth when it left two runners stranded and again in the fifth when it left the bases load. The Scots pushed across their third run in the top half of the seventh. The Comets went down 1-2-3 in the home half of the seventh.

At the plate, Olivet out-hit Alma, 8-5. Langs led the way by going 3-for-4 with one double and two singles. Spotts was 2-for-3 with a run scored. On the mound, junior Mitch Galloway was the tough-luck loser, as he allowed two unearned runs on three hits in five and one-third innings, while striking out five.

The two teams will complete the four-game MIAA series tomorrow with a doubleheader at Adrian College's Nicolay Field, starting at 1 p.m.