Baseball team suffers 9-3 and 15-9 losses to Albion

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College baseball team was on the losing end of two games in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) doubleheader against Albion College today at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet.

THE BASICS
Final Scores: Albion 9, Olivet 3; Albion 15, Olivet 9
Location: Cutler Athletic Complex; Olivet, Mich.
Records: Albion 11-10 overall, 4-6 MIAA; Olivet 4-18 overall, 1-9 MIAA

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME ONE)

• After the Britons scored a run in the top half of the first inning, the Comets got one back in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI-single by freshman Aaron Gillespie.
• Albion answered with two runs in the second and four runs in the sixth to take an 8-1 lead.
• Sophomore Gary Tompkins III laced an RBI-single down the left field line and freshman Matt Rehfeldt drew a bases-loaded to bring home two Olivet runs in the home half of the sixth.
• The Britons capped their scoring with a single tally in the seventh.

FOR THE COMETS

• Olivet was held to five hits, all singles by five different players.
• Gillespie started on the mound and surrendered eight runs (three earned) on 12 hits in five and one-third innings to be charged with the loss.

FOR THE BRITONS

• Albion totaled 13 hits in the game.
• Joe Turnbull and Riley Stesiak each had three hits.
• Turnbull, Jordyn Finney and Jack Wyman collected two RBI and two hits apiece.
• Mitch Shedlowsky earned the complete game pitching win.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME TWO)

• The Comets took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run home run by junior Aiden Holliday.
• A wild pitch plated an Albion run in the second.
• Olivet stretched its lead to 4-1 in the third inning on another two-run dinger, this one by junior Colton Dawdy.
• The Britons answered with two runs in the fourth and two more runs in the fifth for a 5-4 advantage.
• The Comets responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the fifth. Senior Austin Cleaver drove home senior Andrew Dayfield with the first run, and Tompkins lined a double to plate Dawdy.
• Albion used an RBI-single and two wild pitches to score three runs in the sixth and take the lead back 8-6.
• A solo home run and a four-run eighth made the score 13-6.
• In the bottom half of the eighth, Tompkins III hit a leadoff home run, and Dayfield and Gillespie each hit RBI-singles.
• The Britons capped their scoring with two runs in the ninth.
• Olivet put two runners on base in the ninth before a double play ended the game.

FOR THE COMETS

• Olivet recorded 14 hits, with five players posting multi-hit games.
• Dawdy and Tompkins III were both 3-for-5. Dawdy had two singles and a home run, while Tompkins III was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. 
• Dawdy scored two runs and drove in two.
• Cleaver, Dayfield and Gillespie each had a pair of hits
• Freshman Zac Walter started on the mound but did not factor in the decision.
• Junior Joseph Crosby was tagged with the loss.
• Three other relievers – freshman Brett Tyndall, junior Michael O'Brien and junior Travis Petts – each tossed an inning in relief.

FOR THE BRITONS

• Turnbull had three of the 14 Albion hits.
• Wyman drove in a team-leading four runs.
• Austin Carr earned the pitching win in relief of starter Scott Grant. Steven Scott picked-up his third save of the season.

UP NEXT

• Albion and Olivet will finish the four-game series tomorrow with two games in Albion, starting at 1 p.m.