Baseball: Carney’s pitching gem leads Olivet to 9-3 win over Hartford

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Sophomore Bryan Carney struck out 15 batters to help The University of Olivet baseball team beat University of Hartford (Conn.), 9-3, this morning at Ebbets Field. The game was the first of six for the Comets at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

• Final Score: Olivet 9, Hartford 3
• Location: Ebbets Field; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
• Records: Olivet 4-4 overall, Hartford 3-4 overall

• The Comets scored a run in the bottom half of the second inning. Sophomore Braden Abbott led off with a single, stole second base and scored on senior Gabriel Kirck's single.
• Olivet added three more runs in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded, freshman Austin Alflen drove in the first run with a single. Following a pitching change, senior Matthew Fennell roped a two-run single.
• Hartford pushed across a run in the sixth inning on a wild pitch with the bases loaded.
• The Comets did not need a hit in the seventh inning to stretch their lead to 7-1. The first four batters walked to bring in a run, followed by a second run on a wild pitch and an error to plate the third run.
• Olivet capped its scoring with a pair of runs in the eighth inning. Alflen hustled around the bases to score on Fennell's double, and Fennell scored on Kirck's single.
• The Hawks scored twice in the top of the ninth inning.

• Carney started on the mound and threw eight innings, allowing one run on six hits and three walks. The 15 strikeouts are the most by an Olivet pitcher since the 2003 season. It also ties for the fifth-most by an NCAA Division III pitcher this season.
• At the plate, Kirck was 3-for-4 with three RBI.
• Alflen tallied two hits, two runs scored and three RBI.
• Fennell collected two hits and scored two runs.
• Freshman Logan Lewis pitched the ninth inning.

• The Comets return to the field tomorrow for a doubleheader against Dean (Mass.) College. The first pitch from game one at Crosley Field is at 9 a.m.