BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – The Adrian College NCBA Division III baseball team split a pair of games at the Battle Creek Blast on Saturday at Bailey Park. The Bulldogs defeated the University of Michigan-Flint, 9-4, before falling to Miami University, 10-0, in the nightcap.
Game One: Adrian 9, UM-Flint 4
Adrian quickly answered a run from UM-Flint in the top of the first inning. Nate Lindner reached on an error and Gage Hreben followed with a fielder's choice before Tate Wyse drove both runners home with a two-run double to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead.
The Bulldogs added another run in the second inning when Lindner reached on an error and later scored on a bases-loaded walk by Jay Fuhs.
UM-Flint pulled within one in the fifth, but Adrian responded with five runs in the bottom half of the inning. Fuhs opened the frame with a walk before Wyse brought him home with his second double of the game. Josh Cornett followed with an RBI groundout, and Ellis Threadcraft delivered an RBI triple. Pedro Rivera added a sacrifice fly before Connor Begley capped the inning with an RBI single to give Adrian an 8-2 advantage.
Blake Moran drove in the Bulldogs' final run with a single in the sixth inning. UM-Flint scored twice in the seventh, but Adrian closed out the 9-4 victory.
Wyse led the offense by going 2-for-4 with two doubles, three RBIs and a run scored. Threadcraft recorded a triple, an RBI and a run, while Begley, Cornett, Fuhs and Moran each drove in one run. Lindner scored three times for the Bulldogs.
Blake Kareus started on the mound and allowed two unearned runs on five hits over five innings. He struck out four and issued one walk. Ivan Mata pitched the final two innings, allowing two runs on four hits.
Game Two: Miami 10, Adrian 0
Miami scored once in the first inning before adding four runs in the second and three in the third to build an 8-0 advantage.
Carson Meister recorded Adrian's first hit with a single in the fourth inning. Bryan Covel added a double in the fifth, but the Bulldogs were unable to bring either runner home.
Miami scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to end the game with a 10-0 final.
Nate Lindner pitched the first three innings for Adrian, while Sam Sipe worked the final inning and one-third. Sipe allowed two unearned runs on three hits and recorded one strikeout.
The Bulldogs moved to 4-3 on the season with the split. Adrian will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 10, when it hosts Eastern Michigan University for a doubleheader at Nicolay Field. The games are scheduled for 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
