ANGOLA, Ind.—Sophomore Brandon Cooper had a career-best four hits to lead a 16-hit attack as Adrian extended its winning streak to seven games after defeating host Trine, 8-2, in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association baseball game on Sunday afternoon.

THE BASICS
= Final Scorelines: Game 1—Adrian College 8-16-3, Trine University 2-3-2; Game 2—postponed 

= Location: Jannen Field, Angola, Ind.; Weather: Sunny, 56 degrees, Wind E 7 mph

= Records: Adrian Bulldogs 28-6 overall (20-3 MIAA); Trine Thunder 14-21 overall (7-16 MIAA)

= National Rankings: Adrian is No. 16 by the American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (193 points) and No. 17 in the D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (218) poll; NCAA Mideast Regional Rankings: No. 5

TOP 'DAWGS
= Cooper ended up 4-for-4, including a double and a triple, with three runs batted in.

= Senior Zack Zschering was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and two RBI.

= Sophomore Thomas Miller matched Zschering with two hits, including a double, and a RBI.

= Senior Dugan Darnell rapped three hits, including a triple.

= Sophomore Mo Hanley struck out 11 Thunder batters in seven innings to get the win. He allowed two runs (zero earned), three hits and did not issue a walk.

= Classmate Jordan Williams finished up two innings of scoreless relief in which he struck out five, walked one and allowed no hits.

= Senior Jason Croci compiled three hits and three RBI on the night.

THE OPPOSITION
= Zach Schulte led Trine with two hits and a RBI.

HOW IT HAPPENED, Game 1
= Trine took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning on a RBI-single up the middle by Schulte. Chris Frantz began the frame by reaching first base on a fielding error by the pitcher and moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on Schulte's hit.

=Adrian, however, stormed back with four runs on five hits in its next at-bat. Croci brought in the visitor's first run in the fourth on a RBI-single up the middle, followed by Cooper's RBI-double down the left line and Zschering's two-run double the other way.   

= The Bulldogs scored three insurance runs over the last two frames as Cooper had a RBI-triple and scored on a throwing error on the play and Miller posted a RBI-double.

HOW IT HAPPENED, Game 2
= The contest was postponed after a two-hour delay to start the first game because the ground crew was working to rid shallow center field of standing water.

= So due to the late start on a Sunday, the head coaches agreed to play a single nine-inning game and postpone the nightcap to another date.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
= Adrian leads the all-time series over Trine, 61-14, including 25-9 on the road.

= Cooper earned a career high with his four hits. He ranks fifth in the MIAA with a .393 in his first season in the AC starting lineup.

= According to the Adrian record book, the Bulldogs pitching staff set a single-game record with 16 strikeouts. The previous mark was 15 against Transylvania on March 4, 2017.

= The Bulldogs have won 20 conference games in each of the past 14 years as AC is 20-3 in 2019.

= Juniors Brady Wood and Gunner Rainey, as well as Thomas, all have a career-best RBI to rank in a second-place tie in the conference.   

UP NEXT
= Adrian plays second-place Hope College next weekend in a four-game series to decide the MIAA championship. The teams will meet in Adrian on Friday (2 p.m.) for Senior Day, then shift the doubleheader to Holland on Saturday (1 p.m.)

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