BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--Senior Brian Killinger smashed his team's first home run of the season for the go-ahead run, and the Bulldogs turned in two defensive gems late in the game, as visiting Adrian College came from behind to clip nationally-ranked Birmingham-Southern College on Thursday evening.
THE BASICS
= Final Scoreline: Adrian 3-9-1, Birmingham-Southern 2-6-0
= Location: Striplin Field, Birmingham, Ala.; Weather: Clear, upper-40s, slight wind
= Records: Adrian Bulldogs 1-2 overall ; Birmingham-Southern Panthers 9-3 overall
TOP 'DAWGS
= Killinger finished 2-for-4 with a double and two runs batted in.
= Senior Ryan Dorow also had two hits, including a triple.
= Junior Brian Guck and freshman Tristin Richardson also had two hits apiece.
= Sophomore Jesse Marks (W, 1-0) chalked up his first win in a Bulldog uniform. He went 1-1/3 innings of scoreless relief without giving up a hit.
= Hard-throwing senior Kyle Shepherd picked up the save after pitching two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. He allowed no runs and gave up two hits.
THE OPPOSITION
= A.J. Hunt and Preston White both had two hits.
HOW IT HAPPENED
= With the score knotted 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning, Killinger clubbed a home run over the left field wall with one out.
= BSC threatened in its home half as White led off with a single. After a strikeout, Hunt doubled down the left field line where freshman outfielder Gunner Rainey picked up the ball and fired to catcher Frank Resto, cutting down White at the plate to prevent him from tying it 3-3.
= Adrian outhit BSC 9 to 6. The teams combined for 14 runners left on base (AC: 6, BSC: 8).
= The Bulldogs also had other terrific defensive plays in a close ballgame, as Resto picked off a runner at third with the bases loaded to end the sixth. And in the fifth, sophomore third baseman Dugan Darnell made a diving catch in foul territory on a bunt-attempt with runners at first and second; the Panthers would not score in the frame and it remained 2-1 BSC.
= In the sixth, Guck drew Adrian even 2-2 on a RBI-groundout.
= The Panthers erased a 1-0 deficit in the third inning with two unearned runs. Tyler Hamel forced in a run when he was hit by a pitch, giving BSC its only lead of the night, 2-1.
= In the visitor's top-half of that frame, Adrian went up 1-0 when Killinger doubled home Richardson from second base.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
= The Bulldogs are preseason nationally-ranked No. 23 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, and "receiving votes" (48 points for 29th) by D3baseball.com.
= Birmingham-Southern is currently ranked No. 3 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association in the D3baseball.com poll.
= Tonight marked Adrian's best win over a nationally-ranked team since a two-game split (identical 2-1 scores) with No. 1 Heidelberg on March 19-20, 2011, in Adrian. However, the Panthers are the highest-ranked team that the Bulldogs have defeated in a true road game.
= BSC maintains a slight 5-4 edge in the all-time series, but Adrian snaps a three-game losing streak versus the Panthers.
= Adrian has taken the first lead in each of its three games this season.
= The Bulldogs' second contest versus host Piedmont College last night was canceled due to severe thunderstorms forecasted in the area.
UP NEXT
= Adrian and Wisconsin-Oshkosh will meet here tomorrow night (6 p.m Eastern/5 p.m. Central) with BSC's Striplin Field serving as a neutral site.
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