Baseball team swept by Hope, 4-0 and 5-2

The baseball team concluded the 2005 season with a pair of losses to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) foe Hope College today in Olivet. The Flying Dutchmen (22-16, 15-6 MIAA) swept the doubleheader, 4-0 and 5-2.

The Fighting Comets finish the season with a 21-16 overall record and 10-11 MIAA mark. Olivet broke five single-season team records – runs scored (280), doubles (76), triples (10), home runs (30) and RBIs (252).

In the fourth inning of today's first game, Hope manufactured three runs on one hit. The Dutchmen's fourth run was in the fifth frame when they scored without getting a base hit.

For the game, Olivet had four hits and left five runners on base. Junior Jonathon VanSon (Macomb/Notre Dame, H.W.) was the hard-luck loser. He went the distance and allowed three hits.

In the nightcap, Hope took a 4-0 lead with a run in the second, two more runs in the third and one run in the fourth. The Comets plated two runs in their half of the fourth inning. Sophomore Chris Shelhart (Rolling Meadows, Ill./St. Viator) singled to centerfield. He advanced to second base on an interference call and scored on a single by junior James Melvin (Redford Thurston). Melvin took second base on the throw to the plate. VanSon ripped a single to score Melvin. Hope tacked on an unearned run in the seventh inning.

Six different Olivet players reached base on a hit. Junior Chip Paddock (Galesburg-Augusta) had the only extra base hit, a double to lead off the third inning. On the mound, freshman Adam Bassett (Bellevue) suffered the loss. He pitched the first four and two-thirds innings, allowing nine hits and four runs (three earned). Sophomore Brian Schaeffer (Mason) did not allow a hit in two and a third innings.