ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College baseball team is headed back to the NCAA Regionals after sweeping Kalamazoo College in a doubleheader to secure the MIAA's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs needed two wins on Friday and delivered, taking game one in dominant fashion, 9-0, and winning game two in dramatic, walk-off fashion in the 12th inning, 8-7.
Game 1 Recap: Adrian 9, Kalamazoo 0
Adrian struck early, as Easton Rogers delivered a two-run single up the middle in the top of the first.
In the fifth, Nic Bruder doubled to left to drive in Rolando Jimenez, extending the lead to 3-0.
The Bulldogs tacked on three more runs in the eighth with RBIs from Jake Burns, Jack Boike, and Philip Vilardo.
The ninth inning saw Adrian add three insurance runs: Ryan Davis doubled in a run, scored on a wild pitch, and Burns singled in another to seal the 9-0 victory.
Bruder led the offense with three hits, while Rogers and Burns each recorded two.
On the mound, Ryan Davis delivered a masterful performance, going 8.1 shutout innings, allowing just three hits and striking out five. Ben Bates closed it out with the final 0.2 innings.
Game 2 Recap: Adrian 8, Kalamazoo 7 (12 innings)
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a pair of RBI groundouts.
Davis added an RBI single in the second to make it 3-0.
In the third, Adrian extended the lead with RBIs from Jimenez, Boike, and Linken Hayward.
Kalamazoo mounted a comeback, scoring four in the fifth, one in the sixth, and another in the eighth to tie the game and force extras.
A solo home run in the top of the 10th gave Kalamazoo a 7-6 lead, but Adrian answered with a bases-loaded walk to David Kedrow to tie it.
In the bottom of the 12th, with the bases loaded and nobody out, Andrew Clouse ripped a single to left to secure the walk-off win.
Bruder had a perfect day at the plate, going 6-for-6 in game two. Hayward and Davis each contributed three hits.
Broc Shoemaker started on the mound, going four innings. Lincoln Lipinski, Raymond Keane, Sean Parker, and Griffin Firestine pitched in relief, with Firestine earning the win to improve to 4-0 on the season.
Up Next
Adrian claims its 11th MIAA Tournament Championship and now awaits its NCAA Regional destination. The NCAA bracket will be announced on Monday, May 12 at 12:00 PM at www.NCAA.com.