Baseball team beats Aquinas, 5-3
Sophomore Chris Shelhart (Rolling Meadows, Ill./St. Viator) hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning to give the Olivet College baseball team a 5-3 come-from-behind victory over Aquinas College this afternoon in Olivet. He now has 11 home runs to break the college’s single-season record.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Aquinas
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 2 |
|
Olivet
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | X | 5 | 11 | 2 |
Sophomore Chris Shelhart (Rolling Meadows, Ill./St. Viator) hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning to give the Olivet College baseball team a 5-3 come-from-behind victory over Aquinas College this afternoon in Olivet. He now has 11 home runs to break the college's single-season record. The previous record was 10 set by Dan Nixon in 1999.
The Fighting Comets (15-10) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Senior Ben Thomas (Kalamazoo Comstock) led off the inning with a double, moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt by junior Stan Cieslak (Troy Avondale) and scored on sacrifice fly by Shelhart.
The Saints (14-15) tallied two runs in the fourth inning and added another run in the seventh inning to take a 3-1 lead. With two outs in its half of the seventh frame, Olivet scored two runs. Sophomore Nick McIntosh (Petoskey) singled up the middle. Junior James Melvin (Redford Thurston) reached second base and McIntosh scored on an Aquinas throwing error. Junior Jonathon VanSon (Macomb/Notre Dame, H.W.) hit a double to plate Melvin with the tying run.
Olivet also used a two-out rally in the eighth inning. Junior Eddie Jones (Warren/St. Clement) walked to lead off the inning. Following a strikeout and pop-out, Shelhart delivered with the game-winning home run over the leftfield fence. Aquinas did not go down quietly in the ninth inning, leaving two runners on base.
At the plate, McIntosh, Shelhart and junior Drew Benoit (Climax-Scotts) had two hits apiece. On the mound, sophomore Brad Dragicevich (Kalamazoo/Central) started and pitched four innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and five hits. In relief, senior Dustin Bolt (St. Joseph) threw two innings and junior Blake Dunseth (Olivet/Coldwater) tossed one inning.
Sophomore Brian Schaeffer (Mason) pitched the eighth inning and earned the win. After Schaeffer allowed the base runners in the ninth, VanSon came in and closed the game to earn the save.
The Comets are next in action Friday-Saturday, April 15-16, when they travel to Grand Rapids for a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association series at Calvin College. They will play a nine-inning game Friday at 4 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.