March 7, 2010

Wabash Box Score
Birmingham Southern Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The bats and gloves were pulled out of hibernation on Sunday afternoon as the Adrian College baseball team opened its 2010 season with a split. The Bulldogs enter the season ranked 11th in the latest D3baseball.com poll and won 14-4 in game one against Wabash (0-3) before falling 9-5 in game two to host Birmingham Southern (11-1), who entered the week receiving votes in the national poll.

The offense was on display against Wabash as Adrian pounded out 14 hits in the nine-inning affair. Andrew Swart pitched the first four innings for the Little Giants and allowed eight hits, 11 earned runs and three walks. Adrian starter Ryan Domschot began the game by giving up four straight hits including a leadoff homer to Brian Lares. Domschot stranded runners on second and third with one out by striking out the final two batters of the inning. After that he calmed down and threw five innings of seven-hit ball. He allowed two earned runs and walked two with six strikeouts to earn the win.

Adrian spotted Wabash a 1-0 lead in the top of the first but answered with five runs in the bottom half. Adrian took a 5-2 lead into the home half of the fourth and put the game out of reach with six runs to lead 11-2. Four other hurlers made an appearance for the Bulldogs throwing one inning each. Sean Hartman, Craig Steadman and Josh Burd held Wabash off the board in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.

Jake Cappelletty had a four-RBI game with a two-run double in the first and a two-run home run in the fourth. Nate Sarkissian and Alex Cowart also had two RBI's each. Cowart had an RBI double in the fourth and Sarkissian ripped a two-run home run to left in the fourth.

The host Panthers got to Adrian starter Jason Fryman early and carried that momentum into a 9-5 win over the Bulldogs. The Panthers collected 15 hits including 12 of those in five innings off Fryman. He allowed seven earned runs with three walks and five strikeouts. Mike Neal came into relief for the last three innings and allowed three hits, no earned runs and struck out three.

The middle of the BSC order did the damage. Cleanup man Brandon Ricco had a pair of hits and two RBI's. Bruce Maxwell went 2-for-5 with two RBI's. Brian Higginboth had a grand slam in the bottom of the first. Adrian trailed 6-0 after two but staged a comeback attempt in the fourth and fifth. Adrian cut the lead to 6-2 in the fourth as Cappelletty drove in two on a double for his sixth RBI of the day.

After a single run in the bottom of the fourth, the Bulldogs scored three times in the fifth to make it 7-5. Cowart had a two-run jack to the opposite field and Steve Vanderheyden had an RBI single preceding the homer. The Bulldogs stranded four runners on base in their final four at-bats as the Panthers added single runs in the fifth and eighth.