ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College baseball team came into today's doubleheader with five home runs and nearly doubled their season total with three crucial long balls to propel them to a sweep of Alma College by scores of 17-0 and 9-5. Adrian swept all four games over the weekend to make them 9-6 overall and 4-2 in the MIAA.
The first really nice weather day in the area meant that the conditions were peak for an offensive explosion and the Bulldogs did most of the scoring against the Scots. Adrian had a season-high 17 runs in the game one shutout. Adrian scored four runs in the first inning highlighted by a three-run shot to left field by Sam Fischer, his fifth homer of the season. Adrian added five more runs in the third inning when Anthony Sergi went deep over the center field wall for a three-run shot and his first of the season.
The Bulldogs also sent 12 men to the plate in the sixth inning scoring eight times. Fischer nearly hit another home run but settled for a two-run double and Sergi also drove home two more runs in the inning on a single to right field. Both Fischer and Sergi ended the game with career-highs of five RBI's.
Not to be forgotten among the offensive numbers was the starting pitching of Holden Branch. He threw his first complete game shutout allowing three hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. Branch improved to 2-1 on the season and set a new career-high in strikeouts.
Cody Meyer went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI's in game one. Zach Kolvey went 2-for-4 with two runs and a RBI. Mitch Stefanski had a triple in two at-bats and also drew a walk. Five Alma pitchers combined to allow 13 hits and all 17 runs were earned. Alex Ruhlman got the loss going 2.2 innings and allowing seven hits and nine earned runs.
The Bulldogs trailed 3-1 in game two entering the third inning and the game changed with a grand slam with two outs over the right center field wall off the bat of Stefanski. He took a 2-1 pitch and launched his first home run of the season to shift the momentum and gave Adrian a 6-3 lead. Dan Heatherly had a RBI infield single earlier in the inning to cut the lead to 3-2.
Alma got one run back in the third but the Bulldogs kept adding one run in the fourth, fifth and seventh to keep Alma at arms' length. Fischer had a RBI groundout in the fourth, Sergi had a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Adrian scored on a throwing error off a stolen base play in the seventh.
Andrew DeLuca had a pair of doubles and scored twice in game two. Jeff Davis went four innings to get his first win (1-0) of the season. Davis allowed three earned runs and struck out one. Tommy Eng pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts and Lucas Willitzer closed out in the seventh with one strikeout.
Notes: Adrian increased their winning streak over Alma to 20 games…The Bulldogs hit .269 this week and outscored their opponents 40-17…Sergi went 6-for-10 with seven RBI's this week…Meyer went 6-for-12 with four runs and three RBI's this week…Adrian had a 2.79 ERA in 42 innings and walked seven with 25 strikeouts this week.
