May 9, 2009

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

OLIVET, Mich. - The Adrian College baseball squad did one game better in 2009 than they did in 2008's magical season as they swept Olivet on the road on Saturday to finish 31-9 overall and 25-3 in the MIAA.

Adrian College scored four runs in the second and Jake Cappelletty added an insurance run with a solo home run in the seventh as the Bulldogs won 5-3 in game one at Olivet on Saturday.

The start of the game was delayed 40 minutes by rain and once play began it was Olivet who jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first. Pitcher Erik McCloud helped his own cause with a two-run double to center with two outs against Adrian starter Josh Lancaster.

Adrian responded with four runs in the top of the second to take a 4-2 lead. The Bulldogs had six hits in the second against McCloud and nine batters came to the plate in the inning. Joe Dubina hit a sacrifice fly to right to score the first run for Adrian. Brian Bilius scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 2-2.

Andrew Anderson and Alex Cowart had back-to-back RBI singles scoring Kris Powell and Todd Meyers to make it 4-2. Lancaster settled in for the next five innings and allowed just three hits during that time.

Adrian got a boost in the seventh as Cappelletty hit a two-out home run to right on a 2-2 pitch to increase the lead to 5-2. Olivet showed a fight as they put the first two runners on base to start the seventh. Lancaster got a pair of outs and Scott Purdy singled home Braydon LaFramboise but was thrown out at second trying to stretch the single into a double for the final out.

Lancaster improved to 5-2 on the hill this season allowing three earned runs in a complete-game outing. He walked two and struck out two while allowing just one extra-base knock. He threw 101 pitches and got nine flyouts and seven groundouts off Olivet's bats.

Meyers and Anderson each had two hits at the top of the order for the Bulldogs. Adrian had 10 hits as eight of the nine starters had a base hit in the contest. The win was number 30 on the year for the Bulldogs who reached that plateau for the second straight year.

Adrian had another comeback win against Olivet in game two for the second day in a row as they scored four runs in the top of the seventh for a 5-4 victory. Cowart had a big bomb as his three-run home run to right center gave Adrian a one-run lead with one out. The Bulldogs had a pair of singles by Dubina and Powell to start the inning and Olivet took out starter Brad Beisiegel and put in Josh Norlock. That proved to be a poor decision as Cowart gave him a rude entrance on a 2-0 pitch.

Adrian got on the board first in the second as Dubina had a two-out RBI single to left scoring Brian Bilius with an unearned run. Olivet had a big four-run third against Sean Hartman and Jason Fryman. The Comets had two RBI singles, one RBI double and scored on a passed ball.

Dubina went 3-for-3 in game two as the only player with multiple hits for the Bulldogs. Adrian used six hurlers in game two as Craig Steadman got the start and went the first two innings. Don Schmelter and Tim Parent pitched well in relief and Dan Welch (1-0) got the win throwing the last two innings and allowing one hit in a 29-pitch outing.

Adrian finishes the regular season with a 31-9 record overall and went 25-3 in the MIAA. AC finished the MIAA season with four of the top five hitters in the league. Cowart hit .483 followed by Meyers at .440, Nate Sarkissian at .420 and Anderson at .412.