Baseball team loses pair of one-run decisions to Alma

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College baseball team dropped a pair of one-run decisions to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association rival Alma College today at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet. The Comets fell 2-1 in game one and rallied to send the second game to extra innings, but ended up losing 3-2 in eight innings.

In the opener, the Scots scored a run in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 2-0 lead. Olivet had the bases loaded in the sixth inning but a strikeout and groundout ended its threat. In the seventh inning, junior Randy Young (Wixom/Walled Lake Western) hit a RBI-single to score freshman Drew Thompson (Canton/Plymouth) and move sophomore Andrew Engle (Greenville) into scoring position. A fly out sealed Alma's win.

For the game, Engle went 2-for-3 with two singles and a stolen base. Young also had two hits. On the mound, sophomore Jake Ball (Cadillac) was tagged with the loss, allowing one earned run on eight hits. He struck out six and did not walk a batter.

In the nightcap, Alma took a 2-0 lead behind single runs in the third and sixth innings. The Comets cut their deficit in half in the bottom half of the sixth. Junior Andrew Brawley (Niles) led off the inning with a double to left field and went to second on a groundout. Freshman Peter Panos (Davison) hit a single into right field to score Brawley.

Olivet used a two-out rally to tie the game in the seventh. Senior Austin Clark (Ossineke/Alpena) reached first on a pinch-hit single. Junior Justin Pitt (Imlay City) entered the game as a pinch runner and a sacrifice bunt moved him into scoring position. After the second was recorded, freshman Conner Magro (Bridgman) lined the first pitch he saw into the left-centerfield gap to score Pitt. The Scots scored what proved to be the winning run in the eighth inning. The Comets left the tying run on second base in the home half of the eighth.

Olivet finished the game with seven hits, including two each for Brawley and Panos. Junior Kyle Fisher (Vermontville/Maple Valley) started on the mound and went six innings. He gave up two runs on two hits, but did not factor in the decision. Freshman David Hernandez (Lansing/Eastern) suffered the loss in relief, as he yielded the winning run on one hit in two innings.

The Comets (5-7, 2-2 MIAA) will play their next four-game MIAA series against Calvin College. On Thursday, the teams will play two games at Calvin, while Saturday's games will be played at Olivet. First game on Thursday starts at 2 p.m., and Saturday's first game is at 1 p.m.