ADRIAN, Mich.--Junior Ryan Dorow hit a walk-off single with one out and the bases loaded to give host Adrian College a thrilling 14-13 comeback victory over Heidelberg University in non-conference baseball action on Wednesday, sending the Bulldogs to their fifth win in a row.
THE BASICS
= Final Scoreline: Adrian 14-13-3, Heidelberg 13-14-2
= Location: Nicolay Field, Adrian Mich.; Weather: Cloudy, 59 degrees, Wind WSW 13 mph
= Records: Adrian Bulldogs 9-5, Heidelberg Student Princes 9-11
FOR ADRIAN
= Dorow finished the afternoon by going 2-for-5 with a walk and three runs batted in.
= Senior Josh Knorr went 3-for-5 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBI.
= Sophomore reliever Parker Hasse (1-1) picked up his first win in an Adrian uniform, working one scoreless inning with a strikeout.
= Junior Dakota Cararo went 3-for-3 off the bench.
HOW IT HAPPENED
= Trailing 13-11 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, Adrian sent eight men to the plate to score three runs on three hits and two walks. After a groundout, freshman Dugan Darnell doubled to left-center field and scored on Cararo's triple off the wall in right center. With the score 13-12, HU brought the infield in before sophomore pinch-hitter Zach Leach hit a grounder to the first baseman, who fielded it and threw to home plate where Cararo was ruled safe. After two walks that loaded the bases, Dorow hit an opposite-field single through the right side for the tie-breaking run.
= Heidelberg built a 12-5 lead after five innings, capitalizing on several Bulldog miscues. The Student Princes pushed across six runs (four were unearned) on three hits, three AC errors, a hit batter and walk in the top of the second to go up 7-2.
= In the bottom half, Adrian closed to within 7-5 on a bases loaded walk by junior Ian Mikowski and two-run single to left field off the bat of Dorow.
= But the visitors seemingly took control with two runs in the fourth, three in the fifth and one in the sixth. Two-time All-American Derek Hug hit a long home run onto the hill behind the center field fence to ignite a 6-0 run before the Bulldogs got five back in their sixth.
= That rally got Adrian back into the game, turning a 13-5 deficit into a 13-10 game. Knorr and senior Jeff Gertley sparked the comeback with two-run singles apiece.
= Mikowksi produced another run in the seventh with a RBI-groundout to pull the Bulldogs within 13 to 11, setting the stage for Adrian's spirited final rally in the ninth.
= The teams combined for three runs in the very first inning. Clayton Wielinski gave HU a 1-0 lead on a RBI-groundout, while Gertley tied it with a sacrifice fly to center field and junior Miccoy Drzewiecki had a RBI-single to center to give Adrian a brief 2-1 advantage.
= Junior Zach Dunn, who was the Bulldogs' fourth pitcher on the day, saw his longest relief outing of the season. He allowed no runs, two hits and two walks while striking out three in 2-1/3 innings. Last season on the road, he shut out Heidelberg for three innings while getting four strikeouts and allowing four hits.
THE OPPOSITION
= Adam Hershberger and Cory Jacobs both had three hits to pace the HU 14-hit attack.
= Getting two hits apiece were Tj Harkness, Evan Long and Joey Wenning. Both Long and Wenning connected for doubles.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
= Adrian's five-game winning streak is the longest on the season.
= Heidelberg still leads the all-time series 19 to 14.
= The Bulldogs are 7-7 against the Student Princes at home and 13-14 versus HU in the Craig Rainey coaching era.
= A season-high 24 student-athletes were used in the contest for Adrian.
= The Bulldogs were 13-3 in the month of March a year ago.
= The Student Princes were nationally-ranked as high as No. 12 in the D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason Top 25 earlier this spring.
UP NEXT
= Adrian hosts Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association opponent Kalamazoo College for a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m.
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