Baseball team sweeps doubleheader from Wabash, 4-1 and 13-4

The baseball team swept a doubleheader from Wabash (Ind.) College, 4-1 and 13-4, this afternoon at Mud Hollow Field in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The Fighting Comets and Little Giants will conclude the weekend series with a nine-inning game tomorrow at noon.

Olivet (7-4) tallied a run in each of the first four innings of the first game. Sophomore Nick McIntosh (Petoskey) hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning to score junior Stan Cieslak (Troy/Avondale). A Wabash error in the second inning scored junior Eddie Jones (Warren/St. Clement). Sophomore Chris Shelhart (Rolling Meadows, Ill./St. Viator) hit a home run to lead off the third inning. Jones scored again in the fourth inning on a base hit by Shelhart.

For the game, the Comets collected five hits, including two each by Jones and Shelhart. On the mound, junior Blake Dunseth (Olivet/Coldwater) earned the victory, allowing two hits in three innings of work. He struck out three and did not walk a batter. In relief, sophomore Brad Dragicevich (Kalamazoo/Central) tossed three innings and senior Dustin Bolt (St. Joseph) pitched the seventh inning to earn the save.

In the nightcap, Olivet had an 8-2 lead after six innings. The Comets then sent 12 batters to the plate and scored six runs in the seventh inning. Wabash pushed across two runs in its half of the seventh inning.

Every Comet starter except one had at least one base hit. Junior Jonathon VanSon (Macomb/Notre Dame, H.W.) was three-for-four with three singles and two runs scored. Jones had two base hits. Drew Benoit (Climax-Scotts) and Nate Rann (Laingsburg) scored three runs apiece. Benoit, Rann and Shelhart drove in two runs each.

Freshman Adam Bassett (Bellevue) won his third game of the season as he pitched six and two-thirds innings, allowing seven hits while striking out five. Junior Bryce White (Tekonsha) struck out the last batter of the game.

Following tomorrow's game, Olivet will be idle until it hosts Adrian College for its 2005 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) series next Friday and Saturday. The two teams will play a nine-inning game Friday at 3 p.m., and a doubleheader (two seven-inning games) Saturday at 1 p.m.