ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College baseball team improved to 10-0 at Nicolay Field this season with a sweep over Trine on Sunday. The Bulldogs improved to 24-7 overall and 17-3 in the MIAA with a 7-4 game one win and 3-0 game two victory. Adrian holds a three-game lead in the MIAA standings over Kalamazoo and will play the Hornets in a four-game series beginning on Saturday at home.
The Bulldogs erupted for six runs in the first inning of game one and added another in the fourth. The Thunder got one run in the fourth and made things interesting with three runs in the sixth. The Thunder opened the door for a big inning in the first with a pair of errors on routine catches. Josh Knorr walked on four pitches to start the inning and then Drew Shutes bounced into what could have been a double play. The throw was muffed at second base allowing runners on the corners with no outs. Ryan Dorow had an infield single to load the bases and then Jeff Gertley had a bloop RBI single to left center for a 1-0 lead.
Miccoy Drzewiecki followed with a RBI single to shortstop to make it 2-0. Freshman Zach Leach delivered the crushing blow with a bases-clearing, three-RBI double down the left field line for a 5-0 lead without an out on the board. John Joseph brought Leach home with a RBI single through the right side on a drawn-in infield for a 6-0 lead. Trine scored in the fourth after a leadoff double by Jordan Baer followed by an infield single from Drew Palmer. Jake Labounty then grounded into a double play and Baer scored for a 6-1 score.
Dorow gave Adrian a 7-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth off reliever Vinny Slobodecki with a solo home run to left for his seventh of the season. Trine scored three runs in the sixth off Jordan Frayer who cruised through the first five innings. The Thunder had three straight one-out hits as Ethan Kirkman had a double to left for a RBI and Zach Thorn doubled off the wall in left for two RBI.
Frayer went the distance using 88 pitches (59 strikes) to improve to 5-1 on the mound. He allowed eight hits, four earned runs, one walk and struck out four. Brandon Mylcraine took the loss falling to 1-2 for the Thunder. He yielded five earned runs in three innings with two walks and no strikeouts. Dorow went 2-for-4 and Joseph was 2-for-3.
Freshman Tommy Parsons rebounded from a rough outing at Alma and got the start in game two. He allowed no runs and just four hits in five innings. He did not walk a batter and fanned three in 73 pitches (50 strikes). Collin Korte tossed the final two innings to complete the shutout and earn his third save of the season. Adrian took a 1-0 lead in the fourth as Leach hit a two-out RBI single to left on a diving play off the glove of Thorn. Gertley scored on the single after drawing a walk to get on base.
Adrian added two insurance runs in the sixth after Jake Weimer replaced starter Ben Wheaton for the Thunder. Wheaton made his first conference start and pitched admirably going five innings. Shutes walked and Dorow singled through the left side to start the inning. Gertley bunted them over into scoring position and Drzewiecki was intentionally walked to load the bases. Weimer hesitated on the rubber and a balk was called to plate the second run of the game. Leach then bounced to shortstop Jake Kendall who threw over the head of catcher Kyle Auernhamer for the third run to score.
Parsons and Korte combined for the shutout allowing five hits. Parsons improved to 5-1 on the season. Dorow went 2-for-3 and recorded the final two outs on a lineout double play to end the game with the bases loaded. Dorow had a fantastic series against Trine going 8-for-13 with seven runs, two doubles and two home runs. Drzewiecki went 6-for-11 in the series with a double and three RBI.