BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Tommy Parsons tied the school record for career victories as nationally-ranked Adrian College turned back No. 14 Birmingham-Southern College, 7-4, in non-conference baseball action on Thursday evening.

THE BASICS
= Final Scoreline: Adrian 7-7-1, Birmingham-Southern 4-10-2

= Location: Striplin Field, Birmingham, Ala.; Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 57 degrees, Wind S 7 mph

= Records: Adrian Bulldogs 2-0 overall ; Birmingham-Southern Panthers 5-4 overall 

=National Rankings: Adrian ("RV" National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association/D3baseball.com, 34 points; No. 39 American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, 188 points); BSC (No. 14 NCBWA/D3baseball, 307 points; No. 14 ABCA/CBN, 247 points)

TOP 'DAWGS
= Senior pitcher Tommy Parsons got the win in his season debut. He allowed one run and a walk while striking out five batters in seven innings of work.

= Junior Jordan Torrento went 1-for-2, had two runs batted in and walked three times, leading seven Bulldogs with at least one hit.

= Spencer Ford, who relieved Parsons to begin the eighth, walked just one in his inning.

THE OPPOSITION
= Ross Anderson was 2-for-4.

= Will Evans went 2-for-4, including a home run to lead off the ninth.

= Will Toner had a double and a two-run single in the ninth. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
= Adrian struck first with a run in the top of the very first inning. Zack Zschering led off the game when he was hit by a pitch, then advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Senior Hunter Hayes reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to second on a throwing error by the shortstop that allowed Zschering to score.

=BSC tied it 1-1 with a run in the home second inning. Dawson Pfost singled to shortstop with the bases loaded to bring home Tyler Wise. With one out and the bases still full, the Panthers could have added more. But Parsons got Richie Misis to strike out swinging and A.J. Hunt flied out to center, and the Bulldogs escaped the jam.

= Adrian regained the lead in the third, 2-1. With the bases loaded and two outs, Junior Dugan Darnell had a RBI-single to shortstop to plate Torrento, as Darnell beat the long throw to first base.

=Torrento gave AC a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning when he laced a two-run double to left field, scoring Zschering and senior Frank Resto who had both singled.

= The Panthers threatened again in the fifth with runners in scoring position. After two outs, Hunt singled through the left side and Toner doubled down the left field line. But Parsons stopped the threat by getting Tyler Hamel to ground out to third base.

=In the seventh, Adrian tacked on two insurance runs, unearned. Torrento scored from second base on the pitcher's failed pickoff attempt trying to keep sophomore Gunner Rainey close to first. Rainey himself eventually scored on attempted double-steal when sophomore Tristin Richardson was thrown out trying for second. The Bulldogs led 6-1.

= BSC had nine runners left on base.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
= Dating back to the 2017 opener, Parsons has won his last 13 decisions. He moves into a first-place tie with Eric Schmidt (30-5, 2012-15) for the most victories in school history. Parsons owns a 30-4 career mark.

= Adrian has won the last two meetings to pull into a 5-5 tie in the all-time series with the Panthers.

= Birmingham-Southern was ranked seventh in the D3baseball.com poll for the preseason.

= The area received about a half-inch of rain earlier today, causing the start of the game to be delayed one hour in order to prep for the field properly. Standing water was near both teams' dugouts toward the bullpens in foul territory.

= Hayes was held hitless (0-for-4) in a game for the first time since Game 2 of a doubleheader at Albion on April 23, 2017.

UP NEXT
= Adrian travels to Atlanta, Ga., on Friday afternoon to face Emory University. First-pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.  Video l LiveStats

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