Walk off! Baseball team stuns Alma, 5-4, on Senior Day

OLIVET, Mich. – Sophomore Matthew Fennell executed a squeeze bunt to score the winning run, as the Olivet College baseball team scored three runs in the bottom of ninth to stun Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Alma College, 5-4, on Senior Day at the Cutler Athletic Complex.

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Walk off! Baseball team stuns Alma, 5-4, on Senior Day
May 8, 2022

OLIVET, Mich. – Sophomore Matthew Fennell executed a squeeze bunt to score the winning run, as the Olivet College baseball team scored three runs in the bottom of ninth to stun Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Alma College, 5-4, on Senior Day at the Cutler Athletic Complex.


Final Scores: Olivet 5, Alma 4
Location: Cutler Athletic Complex; Olivet, Michigan
Records: Olivet 9-26 overall, 4-17 MIAA; Alma 11-28 overall, 8-13 MIAA

  • Alma took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a solo home run by Ethan Krafft.
  • The Comets had back-to-back doubles by seniors Ben Compton and Logan Sella to score their first run in the fourth inning.
  • The Scots stretched their lead to 4-1 with a three-run fifth inning.
  • Olivet got one back run in the home half of the fifth. Freshman Blake Hawkins hit a double down the left field line to lead off the inning. After the first out was recorded, he stole third base and came around to score on junior Sylas Woll's sacrifice fly.
  • The Alma batters were retired 1-2-3 in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.
  • The Comets left two runners stranded in the sixth before going down in order in the seventh and eighth inning.
  • In the top of ninth, Alma had a leadoff hit and moved the runner to second on a sacrifice bunt. Freshman Wyatt Leland came into pitch for Olivet. He struck out the next batter for the second out and fly out to center field ended the inning.
  • In the bottom of ninth, senior Matt Hewitt reached on an infield single. He stole second and then went to third when the catcher's throw sailed into the outfield. Senior Dayton Regier poked a single into shallow left-center field to score Hewitt. The Scots made a pitching change. Junior James Harris was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base. Freshman Jesse Holmes entered the game to run for Harris at second base.
  • Senior Trevor Savage walked to load the bases. Following another Alma pitching change, freshman Mason Cook lined a single into left field to score Regier and re-load the bases. On the first pitch to Fennell, he bunted the ball right in front of the pitcher who had no play at any of the bases, allowing Holmes to score the winning run.

  • For the game, Olivet recorded eight hits.
  • Compton was 2-for-4 with a double and a single.
  • Other extra-bases hits were Sella's and Hawkins' doubles.
  • The remaining four hits were singles by Cook, Fennell, Hewitt and Reiger.
  • Six senior pitchers made an appearance on the mound. Max Daust started and tossed four and two-thirds innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits. He struck out six and did not walk a batter.
  • Andrew Downer got the final out of the fifth.
  • Drew Smith pitched two hitless innings.
  • Brendan Redding and Ryan Rivard combined to pitch the eighth inning, with Redding getting the first two outs and Rivard throwing one pitch to record the final out.
  • Hunter Henson faced two batters and tallied one out in the ninth.
  • Leland recorded the final two outs in the ninth to earn the pitching win.

  • Alma tallied seven hits.
  • Ethan Krafft was 2-for-3.
  • Joshua Robinson drove in two runs.
  • Blake Stone was charged with the pitching loss.