ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College baseball team picked up a pair of wins on Friday afternoon against Calvin College by scores of 9-0 and 3-2 in nine innings. The first game win meant that the Bulldogs won the MIAA title outright after earning at least a share last Sunday at Kalamazoo. The second place Knights needed four wins in the series in order to claim a share of the title. Adrian will now host the upcoming MIAA Tournament at Nicolay Field which gets underway on Wednesday, May 6. The top-seeded Bulldogs will host the fourth-seeded team in the standings, which at this time would be Hope College.
Eight seniors all got playing time in the doubleheader and Eric Schmidt got the start in game one for the Bulldogs. He got plenty of run support but didn't need it as he threw 6.2 innings of shutout ball improving to 8-1 this season and picking up his 29th career win. Schmidt allowed just three hits (all singles) and no multi-hit innings with a walk and five strikeouts. He handed the ball off to fellow senior Cody Hamilton who recorded the final out after allowing a walk.
Ben Guilfoyle lasted 4.2 innings and yielded 10 hits including four extra-base hits for the Knights. The Bulldogs scored two in the first and added four runs in the second. Adrian had three hits in the first as Drew Shutes had a one-out double to left center followed by a RBI triple down the left field line by Ryan Dorow. His second triple of the season including a bang-bang play at third base with Dorow just getting under the tag. Jeff Gertley singled in Dorow through the left side. The Bulldogs scored four runs in the second on just two hits. Dakota Cararo doubled to start the inning and Tommy Eng moved him to third. John Joseph drew a walk and then took second on a wild pitch. Shutes was hit by a pitch with two outs to load the bases. Dorow drew a walk to score a run and then Gertley unloaded the bases with a double to the left field wall.
Adrian added a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth. Dorow had a RBI single to right field scoring Josh Knorr in the fourth. Adrian scored a pair with two outs in the fifth. Collin Parcher scored on a fielding error as Tommy Eng singled to right and the ball got underneath Jordan VanderWall and rolled to the wall. John Joseph then singled home Eng with a shot to right center. Stephen Buhrt entered the game for Calvin and held Adrian off the scoreboard for the final 1.1 innings.
Dorow went 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBI. Gertley tied a season-high with four RBI and went 2-for-4. In game two, the Bulldogs got a fight from the Knights before winning 3-2 in nine innings. Adrian improved to 3-1 in extra-inning games this season. Seniors Jake Gilstorff, Hayden Craig, Jacob McCarty and Ben Yax each got a start in their final regular season game. Yax finished 1-for-2 and fellow senior Joseph went 3-for-4 with a RBI. It was his fifth multi-hit game and first three-hit game this season.
Jordan Frayer got the start and did not factor in the decision. He threw five innings and allowed five hits with one earned run and a strikeout. Eng tossed 2.1 innings of scoreless relief and allowed three hits with two strikeouts. Collin Korte finished the game and allowed one hit with a walk and three strikeouts improving to 4-1 this season. Korte entered in the eighth with two on and struck out the first batter he faced before walking the bases loaded. He then battled Brian Exner and struck him out on the seventh pitch of the at-bat to keep the game tied.
The Bulldogs trailed 2-0 entering the sixth inning and managed to tie the game. Austin Juza entered as the third pitcher of the game for Calvin and allowed a leadoff single to Gertley. Gertley moved to second on a groundout and Cararo hit a RBI single to right to cut the lead in half. Matt Andrus reached on a fielding error and then Joseph delivered a two-out, game-tying single up the middle on an 0-2 pitch.
The Bulldogs won it in the ninth inning off Kyle Wasserberg (3-4) who threw the final three innings for Calvin. Joseph singled to center to start the inning and Knorr bunted pinch runner Brian Killinger over to second. Shutes drew a walk on an eight-pitch at-bat and then Dorow hit what could have been a double play. The ball was momentarily bobbled by Ben Wohl which allowed everyone to be safe and load the bases with one out. Gertley ended it with a sacrifice fly to right center and Killinger tagged and scored without much of a throw to the plate.
Shutes drew four walks in game two while Dorow and Cararo each had a pair of hits. The Bulldogs end the regular season with a doubleheader tomorrow at Calvin which begins at 1 p.m.