MARIETTA, Ohio - Adrian pitcher Jason Fryman didn't do much right in the first inning.
He couldn't throw strikes, gave up four hits and four runs against a dangerous Wooster team in the 2012 NCAA Division III Mideast Regional at Marietta's Don Schaly Stadium.
"My fastball wasn't there and when that happens I usually lose my secondary pitches also. I got into hitter's counts and they took advantage," Fryman said.
He survived his first-inning jitters and so did the Bulldogs (36-8), who rallied for an 8-4 victory Wednesday. After the rough first inning, Fryman (11-1) pitched six scoreless innings before giving way to Brent Greenwood, who threw two scoreless innings for the save.
"He settled down and hung up a bunch of zeros after that. He came out and competed like a senior should," said Adrian coach Craig Rainey. "Bad things happened to him in the first, but he settled in and got into a groove. We just had to get through that inning and not let it blow up."
The Bulldogs helped their own cause in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs and the bases loaded, Wooster starter Josh Stidham (7-3) was about to get out of the jam when Adrian first baseman R.J. Rios doubled to center scoring all three runners.
"That was a huge hit. That kid has been somewhat limited for us, but he's been swinging it good," Rainey said.
Left fielder Kyle Strawn said Rios' hit was a huge confidence boost for the Bulldogs.
"I think before the game and coming into the game everyone came in a little nervous," Strawn said. "After they scored four it was like, 'whoa,' but then we scored three and everything settled down."
Wooster coach Tim Pettorini was confident they had a good scouting report on Rios and thought they would get out of the inning without any damage.
"(Stidham) had a chance to work out of it, but (Rios) put a good hit on it," Pettorini said. "It wasn't our best performance, but you have to give their guy credit. He gave up a four-spot in the first inning and threw a ton of pitches and he battled back."
Leading 5-4 going into the eighth inning, Adrian pushed across three insurance runs behind second baseman Garrett Green's two-run single and right fielder Andrew DeLuca's RBI single.
"It was definitely nice to get a few more and we could calm down a little bit," Strawn said. "It also allowed (Greenwood) to settle in and not feel like he had to be perfect."
DeLuca and Strawn each finished the game 3-for-5, while center fielder Sam Fischer added two hits.
"I think all of the guys would agree with me that getting this first win is one of the most important, except for the final game," DeLuca said.
Wooster (27-17) was led by left fielder Johnathan Ray, who went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Designate hitter Zack Vesco and right fielder Jake Zeek each added two hits.
Adrian is back in action at 8 p.m. Thursday against the winner of Washington & Jefferson and Manchester. The Fighting Scots will play the loser at 1 p.m.
"Obviously when you get to this level everyone is good, so you're going to be down at times and you just have to keep fighting," Rainey said. "I thought our guys did a good job of staying mentally into the game and not getting down."