May 20, 2010

Box Score

MARIETTA, Ohio - The letdown was noticeable after a 9-8 loss to top-seeded Heidelberg on Thursday morning as Adrian held a 8-5 lead in the eighth before the Student Princes scored three times in the eighth to tie the game and then they pushed across the winning run in the ninth.

The game was picked up in the top of the third inning after it was halted just past 11 PM last night because of fog. The break seemed to help Adrian who was trailing 4-1 before the stoppage. The Bulldogs scored two runs in the third to cut the lead to 4-3 and in the fifth they took a 5-4 lead after a two-run homer by Brian Bilius which seemed to ignite the team.

AC added to its lead in the sixth with a run to lead 6-4. Heidelberg got that run back in the bottom of the sixth to make it 6-5. The Bulldogs got out of a jam in the bottom of the seventh as Heidelberg left runners on second and third after back-to-back strikeouts. The Bulldogs added to their lead with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth to lead 8-5. Heidelberg loaded the bases with two outs and Alex Monroe cleared them with a double which tied the game at 8-8.

Adrian got a runner to second with two outs in the top of the ninth but a strikeout ended the scoring chance. Heidelberg got a lead-off single by Derek Andrzejczak in the ninth after fouling off a couple of two-strike pitches. He was bunted over to second by Travis McClarney and then lead-off hitter Ricardo Lizcano was intentionally walked to setup a force. Steve Decker fought off several full count pitches to stay alive in his at-bat and eventually got one he liked and lined it down the left field line which scored the runner from second.

Josh Lancaster threw two innings last evening and was not put back on the mound to start the third. Andrew Geese entered in the third and threw very well against one of the nation's best hitting clubs. He went 5.2 innings of relief and threw 102 pitches. He got a no-decision and allowed 10 hits but did strike out six. Nick Sarkissian (2-3) took the loss coming into the game to get the final out in the eighth and start off the ninth. He allowed two hits but the winning run was unearned. He walked one and struck out one.

Bilius hit his fourth home run of the season in the fifth over the left field wall and was 3-for-5 with four RBI's to lead the attack. Jake Cappelletty went 2-for-4 with the other RBI for Adrian. Cody Meyer had a fantastic game going 3-for-4 with a walk at the plate. The Bulldogs benefitted from five Student Princes' errors in the game. Andy Lowe (4-1) went the final 4.2 innings for the `Berg and allowed four hits and just one earned run. He walked none and struck out five Bulldogs.

Adrian (30-12) will now play on Friday morning at 9:30 am for the third straight day and will await the loser of Thomas More/Penn State-Behrend which is scheduled to start on Thursday at 4 PM.