ALBION, Mich.—Freshman Maxwell Denny and junior Brandon Schulzecombined on a four-hit shutout and the Adrian offense pounded out 20 hits to earn a 12-0 victory over host Albion in the nightcap of their Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association baseball doubleheader on Friday. The Britons won the opener 3-1 while limiting the Bulldogs to four hits.
THE BASICS
= Final Scorelines: Game 1—Albion College 3-6-2, Adrian College 1-4-0; Game 2--Adrian 12-20-0, Albion 0-3-2
= Location: Champions Field, Albion, Mich.; Weather: Cloudy, 41 degrees, Wind NE 15 mph
= Records: Adrian Bulldogs 22-6 overall (15-3 MIAA); Albion Britons 17-12 overall (12-6 MIAA)
= National Rankings: Adrian is No. 12 by the American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (302 points) and No. 13 in the D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (326) poll
TOP 'DAWGS
= Junior Gunner Rainey was 2-for-3 in the opener, and followed up with 3-for-5 (2 doubles) and four runs scored in the nightcap.
= Classmate Brady Wood drove in the Bulldogs' only run of the first game, and went 3-for-4 with three runs batted in during the second.
= Senior Zack Zschering had six hits on the day, including five to equal a career high in the second contest.
= Sophomore Thomas Miller finished with three hits, two runs and two RBI on the afternoon.
= Denny improved to 7-0 on the season, pitching seven strong innings. He struck out eight Britons, walked one and allowed just three singles.
= Senior Dugan Darnell was 4-for-5 with three RBI in Game 2.
= Classmate Jason Croci gave Adrian some production at the No. 9 position in the lineup with 2-for-5, a double, and two runs scored.
= Schulze preserved the Game 2 shutout, allowing no hits and no walks with one strikeout in two innings of work.
THE OPPOSITION
= Mitch Shedlowsky threw a four-hitter in a complete-game victory to shut down Adrian's prolific offense in Game 1. He allowed one run and a walk while striking out seven Bulldogs.
= Justin Charron went 2-for-3, including a pair of doubles, with a RBI in Game 1. He added two more hits in Game 2.
= Joe Turnbull also had a double and a RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED, Game 1
= In the bottom of the third inning, Albion went ahead for good on a pair of runs. Andrew Arszulowi tied it 1-1 on a RBI-single to center field and Charron, the next batter, doubled to center to plate the go-ahead run.
= The Britons added an insurance tally in the sixth on a two-out, RBI-double by Turnbull through the left side.
= Adrian struck first in the top of the first frame, when Wood was credited with a RBI on a ball hit to the third baseman and Miller scored on the play from second base.
HOW IT HAPPENED, Game 2
= Adrian got all the offense it would need by scratching one run across the plate in the top of the first. Wood delivered a RBI-single through the right side with two outs.
= The Bulldogs, however, kept the pressure on with three runs in the third, two in the fourth and four in the fifth to build a commanding 10-0 advantage. Darnell, Miller and Wood had two RBI apiece during that decisive stretch.
= Adrian outhit Albion 20 to 3.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
= Albion leads Adrian in the all-time series, 104-72, including 47-27 when it is the home team.
= The Britons snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Bulldogs with the two-run win in Game 1.
= Denny lowered his earned-run average to 1.45 for second in the MIAA and he leads the conference with seven victories.
= Wood has 99 career hits in 80 games covering 266 at-bats for the Bulldogs.
= Shedlowsky is fifth in MIAA strikeouts with 37, fourth with a 2.66 ERA and tied for second with five wins.
= Miller and Rainey are tied atop the MIAA lead with 36 RBI each; Wood is fourth with 34, which ties his career high established during his 2018 sophomore campaign.
= Zschering, who went over the 100-hit mark today (105) as the 40th Bulldog--and third this season--ever to reach the milestone, owns a 13-game hitting streak and improves his MIAA-leading batting average to .447.
= Rainey moved past former All-America outfielder Ian Mikowski (159 from 2014-17) into 13th place on Adrian's all-time hits list with 161.
UP NEXT
= These same two teams are scheduled to play another doubleheader on Saturday in Adrian, but the weather forecast predicts rain for most of the day. Stay tuned to Adrian Athletics and Bulldogs Baseball digital media platforms for updates.
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