Timely hitting and strong pitching helps baseball team sweep doubleheader at Calvin

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Olivet College baseball team swept a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) doubleheader from Calvin College today in Grand Rapids. In the first game, junior pitcher Jay Magro (Bridgman) allowed only three hits and junior Andrew Brawley (Niles) tied a single-game school record with three doubles, as the Comets beat the Knights, 4-3. In the second game, senior Sean Alexander (Fenton) threw a complete game, four-hitter to lead Olivet to a 3-2 win.

In game one, Olivet pushed across three runs in the top half of the second inning. Brawley led off the inning with a double. Freshman Drew Thompson (Canton/Plymouth) then reached base on an error, followed by a single from junior Justin Pitt (Imlay City) to score Brawley and move Thompson to third. A groundout off the bat of senior Austin Clark (Ossineke/Alpena) scored Thompson and advanced Pitt to second. Pitt stole third base and crossed the plate on a fielder's choice by sophomore Andrew Engle (Greenville).

The Knights scored a run in the sixth to make the score 3-1. The Comets used a two-out rally to get the run back in the seventh. Junior Randy Young (Wixom/Walled Lake Western) singled and came around to score on Brawley's double. Calvin scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh.

For the game, Brawley went 3-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI. The rest of Olivet's hits were singles. Magro went the distance on the mound, allowing the three runs (one earned).

In the second game, the Comets took advantage of two Calvin errors to plate two runs in the second inning. The Comets tacked on an insurance run in the sixth inning. Young started off the inning with a double and went to third on a single by Brawley. Freshman Peter Panos (Davison) then hit a sacrifice fly to score Young.

The Knights did not go down quietly in the seventh inning. The first two batters reached on base hits and a groundout scored a run. A hit put runners back on the corners, and then a fielder's choice and subsequent out at second base pushed across the second run. Alexander struck out Ben Wohl to end the game and seal the win.

Offensively, Olivet had six hits, including two singles for Thompson. Four others each recorded one hit. On the mound, Alexander improved to a perfect 3-0 this season with his complete game win. He surrendered the two runs on four hits, while striking out nine.

The Comets and Knights will complete their four-game series Saturday with a doubleheader at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet, starting at 1 p.m.