Baseball team beats Grace Christian, 6-2, in home-opener

OLIVET, Mich. – Five pitchers combined to allow four hits, as the Olivet College baseball team won its home-opener over Grace Christian University, 6-2, today at the Cutler Athletic Complex.

• Final Score: Olivet 6, Grace Christian 2
• Location: Cutler Athletic Complex; Olivet, Michigan
• Records: Olivet 2-12 overall, Grace Christian 2-19

• Olivet wasted no time in taking a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the first inning. Senior Sylas Woll hit a triple over the center fielder's head and came around to score on junior Gabriel Kirck's groundout. Freshman Isaac Moore then deposited the first pitch he saw over the left-centerfield fence.
• The Comets added to their lead with two runs in the sixth inning. With the bases loaded, freshman Nate Droste hit an RBI-single to score Moore, and later in the inning, sophomore Mason Cook hit a sacrifice fly to score freshman Braden Abbott.
• Olivet capped its scoring with a pair of runs in the seventh inning. Woll led off with a single, stole second base and scored on Kirck's double to right-center field. Kirck stole second base and crossed the plate on Moore's sacrifice fly.
• The Tigers scored their two runs in the eighth inning.

• Freshman Bryan Carney started and struck out four batters over the first three innings to earn his second win of the season.
• Junior Keegan Kuha and freshman JB Stroh each threw two hitless innings of relief.
• Freshman Jacob Jasin gave up the two runs on three hits in the eighth inning.
• Junior Andrew Vendzuh pitched a perfect ninth inning.
• At the plate, Woll was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
• Moore also had two hits, while driving in two and scoring two runs.
• Freshman Tyler Geckler tallied two hits in four at-bats.

• Alex Bonnema, AJ Scott, Dylan Thomas and Eric Whiting each had one hit. The four hits were all singles.
• Iwan Sitalo was charged with the pitching loss, as he allowed the first two runs on three hits over three innings.

• The Comets begin Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play Saturday and Sunday against Trine (Ind.) University. The first two games are a doubleheader Saturday at the Cutler Athletic Complex and the series shifts to Jannen Field in Angola, Indiana, Sunday for a single game. Game time both days is 1 p.m.