EASTLAKE, Ohio – The Adrian College baseball team faced Endicott College on Monday afternoon in the NCAA Division III College World Series Bracket Championship. Looking to avenge a 12-2 loss earlier in the tournament, the No. 7-seeded Bulldogs battled past the No. 6-seeded Gulls with a thrilling 10-9 victory to keep their season alive. The win marked Adrian's 40th of the season, setting a new program record for victories in a single year.
Adrian struck first in the top of the second inning when Jake Burns lifted a sacrifice fly to score the game's opening run. Endicott answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning, but the Bulldogs regained the lead in the third as Gabe Jones delivered an RBI single to plate Nic Bruder, who opened the frame with a leadoff hit.
The Gulls threatened to take control in the fourth inning after loading the bases with nobody out, forcing a pitching change for Adrian. Reliever Lincoln Lipinski responded in a big way, limiting the damage to just one run and preserving a 2-2 tie.
The game remained deadlocked until the seventh inning when Jack Boike lined an RBI single to give Adrian a 3-2 advantage. Endicott answered immediately with a solo home run in the bottom of the inning to even the score once again.
The Bulldogs broke through in the eighth, capitalizing on several Endicott miscues. Boike drew a bases-loaded walk, Bruder added a sacrifice fly, and Jones was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to extend Adrian's lead to 6-3.
Adrian appeared to put the game away in the ninth. The Bulldogs loaded the bases once more and pushed across four runs on an RBI single from Boike and a pair of Endicott errors, building a seemingly comfortable 10-3 lead.
The Gulls, however, mounted a furious comeback in the bottom of the ninth. Endicott scored six runs and brought the tying run to third base with two outs. Ben Bates entered in relief and recorded a game-ending strikeout to secure the dramatic 10-9 victory.
Jaxon McGuigan paced the Bulldogs offensively, going 3-for-4 at the plate. Boike, Rolando Jimenez, and Brendan Willadsen each added two hits. Boike finished with three RBIs, while Bruder and Jones drove in two runs apiece.
Ambrose Horwath earned the start on the mound, pitching three innings and allowing two runs on four hits while striking out one. Lipinski delivered a stellar relief performance, tossing five innings and allowing just one run on three hits while striking out eight.
The Bulldogs advanced to the second game of the Bracket Championship and will face Endicott again in an elimination contest scheduled for approximately 8:30 p.m. The winner will advance to the NCAA Division III National Championship Series, a best-of-three matchup against the winner of the Denison and East Texas Baptist bracket.
