ADRIAN, Mich. - The starting pitching for Adrian College baseball was the difference in the MIAA opening doubleheader against Calvin as the Bulldogs posted a 3-2 game one win and 4-2 game two victory.
Seniors Ryan Domschot and David Partyka held the Knights in check as both threw complete games and allowed eight hits and one earned run combined as Adrian improved to 7-4 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA.
Domschot took the ball in game one and held Calvin off the board for the first five innings and finished with seven innings and 123 pitches with 78 for strikes. Domschot gave up two singles and a double and one earned run in the two-run sixth inning for the Knights. He also walked four and struck out 11. He lowered his season ERA to 1.83 and also picked up his 20th career win. Domschot is now tied for fourth all-time in pitching wins at AC. He now has 232 career strikeouts which places him second on the all-time list at AC.
Adrian jumped out early to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Cody Meyer led off with an infield single and Andrew DeLuca bunted him over to second base. Brian Bilius was hit by a pitch and then Jake Cappelletty doubled to left center allowing Meyer to score from second and put Bilius at third. Nate Sarkissian had a sacrifice fly to right allowing Bilius to score.
The Bulldogs tacked on a run in the fourth inning courtesy of a one-out RBI single up the middle by Mitch Sroka. Kyle Strawn had an infield single with one out and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Calvin got within one with two runs in the sixth. Jake Van Alten led off with a bunt single and was put out on a fielder's choice by Ben Cok. Cok went to second on a passed ball and Tyler Tos drew a walk. Andrew Bosma delivered a RBI double into the left field corner allowing Cok to score from second. Strawn misplayed the ball in left and allowed Tos to score all the way from first. Domschot then struck out Peter Steiner and sandwiched in a walk before striking out Dan Happ to end the inning.
The Knights put runners on second and third in the top of the seventh as Drew Vos walked to lead off the inning and pinch hitter Jack Jorgenson also walked. Van Alten bunted them over a base but then Domschot struck out Cok and Tos to end the game.
Meyer reached base twice in game one with a hit and walk and also scored a run. Six different players had a hit in game one with Cappelletty's double the only extra base hit. Joe Lambers took the loss for Calvin going six innings and yielding six hits, three earned runs, three walks and three strikeouts. Tos and Steiner each struck out three times for Calvin.
Partyka improved to 2-1 this season on the mound with another stellar performance. He lowered his season ERA to 2.30 with seven innings of five-hit ball. He allowed no earned runs and walked one with a career-high eight punchouts. He is now 10-2 in his career on the hill. Partyka needed 96 pitches (62 strikes) in the complete game effort.
Adrian scored again in the first inning of game two. DeLuca drew a one-out walk and Bilius had a ground-rule double over the left field wall. Cappelletty hit a sacrifice fly to left to score DeLuca for his sixth RBI of the season. The Bulldogs added another run in the third to take a 2-0 advantage. DeLuca reached on a fielding error by Vos with one out and then took second on a wild pitch. Sarkissian hit an RBI single to right field with two outs.
Calvin got their two runs in the fourth inning as Partyka got the first two batters and then ran into trouble. Bosma singled to center and Steiner walked to start the rally. Jorgenson then reached on a fielding error by Billius to load the bases. Tos then singled home two with a hit up the middle to tie the game.
Adrian regained the lead 3-2 in the fifth inning as Meyer singled to center to start it off. DeLuca sacrificed Meyer to second and Bilius doubled him home with a chopper down the left field line. Adrian added an insurance run in the sixth inning as Sroka was hit by a pitch and Mitch Stefanski pinch ran for him. Stefanski stole second and then Strawn bunted him to third with one out. Joe Dubina then hit a sacrifice fly to right to give AC a two-run cushion.
Bilius went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles in the nightcap. DeLuca scored a pair of runs and drew a walk. Keith Spoelstra took the loss for Calvin going six innings. He allowed five hits and three earned runs with four walks and two strikeouts. The two teams will play again tomorrow in Grand Rapids for a doubleheader to conclude the season series. Adrian has won six of the last seven in the series.
