Baseball team swept by Hope College, 4-1 and 5-2

The Olivet College baseball team was swept by Hope College, 4-1 and 5-2, in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) doubleheader today in Olivet. The teams will complete the four-game MIAA series with a doubleheader tomorrow at Hope's Buys Athletic Field, beginning at 1 p.m.

In the first game, Olivet jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. On the first pitch, senior Chris Shelhart (Rolling Meadows, Ill./St. Viator) hit a home run over the centerfield fence. The Comets had a chance to push across more runs in the inning, as they had the bases loaded with one out but a pop-out and flyout ended the threat. The Flying Dutchmen tied the game on Brian Baker's leadoff home run in the fourth inning. Later in the fourth, Matt Van Beek had a two-run double. Hope added an insurance run in the sixth inning. Olivet did not go down quietly, leaving two runners on base in the sixth and seventh innings.

For the game, the Comets out-hit the Dutchmen, 9-8. Shelhart along with senior Elliot Wilcox (Mattawan) and junior Eric Quinn (Fort Gratiot/ Port Huron Northern) each had two hits. Senior Brad Dragicevich (Kalamazoo/Central) was credited with the loss, allowing four earned runs in seven innings.

In the nightcap, Hope took a 1-0 lead when Matt Sattler led off the game with a triple and scored on a Brian Baker single. Olivet tied the game with a run in the second. Quinn singled, moved to second on a four-pitch walk to senior Nate Rann (Laingsburg) and scored on a Shelhart's two-out single to leftfield. Hope regained the lead, 2-1 with a run in the third inning. The Comets made it a 2-2 game when senior Nick McIntosh (Petoskey) hit an inside-the-park home run in the fifth. The Dutchmen took advantage of Olivet errors to score two runs in the sixth and one more run in the seventh.

Offensively, the Comets had seven hits, including two each for McIntosh and Wilcox. On the mound, Wilcox was the hard-luck loser, pitching a complete game, nine-hitter. He gave up five runs (two earned), while striking out for.

Following tomorrow's games, Olivet will conclude the 2007 season next Wednesday, April 9, when it travels to play Western Michigan University at 3 p.m.

NOTE: With his home run in game one, Shelhart became Olivet's career leader for hits. He passed Beau Locker's (2001-04) total of 177.