Box Score MOUNT BERRY, Ga.--Senior catcher Gunner Rainey posted season highs with three hits and four runs batted in to help spark Adrian to a 5-2 victory Saturday over Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the Berry College Invitational finale.
THE BASICS
= Final Scoreline: Adrian College 5-8-1; University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh 2-3-3
= Location: William R. Bowdoin Field, Mount Berry, Ga.; Weather: Clear, 57 degrees, Wind SE 10 mph
= Records: Adrian Bulldogs 4-5; Wisconsin-Oshkosh Titans 1-4
= National Rankings: Adrian is No. 14 by the American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (247 points) preseason poll and "receiving votes" in the D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (21 points) poll.
TOP 'DAWGS
= Rainey was 3-for-4 at the plate with a walk.
= Junior Mo Hanley pitched six strong innings for his first win this season. He recorded 10 strikeouts while walking two, allowing three hits and giving up two runs.
= Classmate Thomas Miller was 2-for-3 with three runs scored.
= Junior Jordan Williams was outstanding coming from the bullpen, pitching three scoreless innings with six strikeouts to get the save. He walked two, but did not give up a hit.
THE OPPOSITION
= Matt McNabb had a double for UWO.
= Connor Giusti drove in a pair of runs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
= Adrian broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the fifth inning. Miller led off by reaching on a throwing error by the third baseman. Junior Ty Peck had a sacrifice bunt to advance Miller to second base. Rainey, the next batter, singled to right field to bring home Miller with the unearned run.
= Graduate student Brandon Baldus and Rainey gave the Bulldogs insurance runs with a sacrifice fly and RBI-single in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.
= The Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead in the third. Junior Sean O'Keefe and Miller opened the frame with back-to-back singles and both moved up 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt by Peck. Rainey, the next batter, delivered a two-run single up the middle.
= But the Titans answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half. McNabb had a lead-off double to left field and went to third base on a Andrew Zakula sacrifice bunt. Benjamin Jung and Matt Scherrman were both hit by a pitch to load the bases before Giusti hit a two-run single down the left field line to tie the game.
= Adrian took advantage of three UWO errors to score three unearned runs.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
= Adrian leads the Titans in their all-time series, 2-1.
= With 16 strikeouts today, the Bulldog pitching staff leads the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association with 91 strikeouts in just 77.1 innings for a 10.59 rate per 9 and a .209 batting average against.
= Hanley ranks second in the MIAA with 30 strikeouts.
= Williams earned his first save since his 2018 freshman season.
NEXT UP
= Adrian will be idle until Friday when it makes its Nicolay Field home debut against Defiance for a non-conference game, starting at 5 p.m. Then the following day, the Bulldogs will host Carthage for a non-conference doubleheader to begin at 1 p.m.
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