ANGOLA, Ind.-- Trine split a doubleheader with Olivet in a pair of pitcher's duels Sunday afternoon at Jannen Field.
Andy Farrell (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/St. Vincent St. Mary) led the Thunder to a 2-0 victory in game one with a two-hit shutout. Comet pitcher Collin McCririe returned the favor with a complete game shutout as Olivet took game two, 2-0. Trine won three of the four games in the series. The starting pitchers for each team combined to allow just 14 hits on the afternoon, with neither team needing to tap into the bullpen. Ethan Prebynski (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) had a four-hit day to lead the Thunder. Trine is now 13-15 overall, 8-8 in the MIAA. Olivet is 5-21 overall and 4-12 in conference play.
Game One: Trine 2, Olivet 0
The Thunder took advantage of a scoring opportunity in the fifth, while the defense backed a strong outing from Farrell in the game one victory.
Trine flashed the leather early, with Zach Thorn (Portage, Ind./Portage) coming up with a diving catch in left and Kyle Auernhamer (Vassar, Mich./Vassar) cutting down a runner on a strikeout/throw out double-play. Auernhamer threw out three potential base stealers on the afternoon.
Kory Shackle (Butler, Ohio/Mount Vernon) singled past third base to set up the rally in the fifth. Prebynski then beat out a slow roller up the middle, as Shackle raced all the way around to third with a heads-up baserunning play on the infield single.
Shackle came in to score on Jake Kendall's (New Castle, Ind./New Castle) fielder's choice to get the Thunder on the board. Prebynski later came in to score on a wild pitch as the Comets were trying to intentionally walk Drew Palmer (Hartford, Wisc./Hartford Union).
Farrell did the rest, taking a no-hitter into the sixth. The sophomore has tossed two-hit shutouts in each of his last two starts, both of which resulted in key conference victories. Farrell walked one and struck out four, throwing 87 pitches to improve his record to 3-2 on the season.
Prebynski had three hits in game one for the Thunder.
Mitch Galloway took the loss, allowing an earned run on four hits, walking three and striking out three.
Game Two: Olivet 2, Trine 0
The Thunder got a strong start from Jacob Thoma (Granger, Ind./Penn), but the Comets got the better of the game two pitcher's duel.
Olivet pushed across the first run of the game in the top of the second, as first baseman Stephen Botti led off with a double and later came in to score on an RBI-groundout by Andrew Dayfield.
That was all the scoring the game would see until the seventh, when Austin Cleaver knocked in Jonny Zawacki with a two-out RBI-single up the middle.
Thoma was solid in his first-career start, allowing just the two earned runs on three hits in the complete game effort. The freshman struck out one and induced 16 outs via ground balls on the day.
McCririe notched the complete game shutout for the Comets. McCririe allowed five hits, did not walk a batter and struck out two.
Trine returns to action next Saturday, Apr. 18 when they host MIAA-leader Adrian. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.