Alma, Mich. - Playing in its earliest home opener since the 2012 season, the Alma College baseball game swept visiting Cleary University in the Scots' final non-conference series of the season. Alma extended its winning streak to eight games with the two victories and now owns a 9-2 record as it heads into conference play.
Senior Doug Walters (Brighton, Mich./Brighton) finished the day 3-for-5 with five RBIs to pace the Scots and extend his hitting streak to 10 games. Walters also tallied his team-leading fourth double of the season.
Game 1 - at Alma 10, Cleary 4
Walters went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and senior Dayne San Miguel (Wheeler, Mich./Breckenridge, Kellogg CC) tallied three RBIs as the Scots won their seventh straight game, cruising to a 10-4 win.
The Scots opened the first game with five straight runs, starting in the bottom of the second when junior Adam Thoryk (Syracuse, N.Y./John C. Birdlebough/St. John Fisher) doubled to left field to score Walters. Junior Patrick Finn (Allentown, Mich./Almont) added a hit on the next at bat, scoring Thoryk to give the Scots a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third, Alma loaded the bases with no outs and Walters hit a two RBI single up the middle to score senior David Carles (Staten Island, N.Y./Petrides/College of Staten Island) and sophomore Matthew Minaudo (Clinton Township, Mich./De La Salle Collegiate). San Miguel connected on a sacrifice fly to right field to score senior Yoan De La Rosa (Bronx, N.Y./Morris/Monroe College), putting Alma up by five runs.
Cleary scored a run in the top of the fourth before the Scots added three more runs in the bottom half of the inning after a pitching change by the Cougars. With the bases loaded and one out, De La Rosa walked, scoring Finn. Cleary went to the bullpen again, and on the next at bat, Walters singled to left field, scoring junior Alex Peczynski (Farmington Hills, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) and Minaudo to give the Scots an 8-1 advantage after four innings.
Cleary scored twice in the top of the fifth and once in the top of the sixth on a home run before the Scots struck again in the bottom of the sixth when San Miguel tripled to left center field, knocking in a pair of runs to give Alma a 10-4 lead.
Senior Matt Launstein (Flushing, Mich./Flushing) picked up the win after 4.2 innings of work, facing 26 batters with seven strikeouts. Freshman Jordan Masters (Waterford, Mich./Kettering) and senior Blake Ordiway (Holly, Mich./Holly) came in to relieve Launstein in the final two innings.
Game 2 - at Alma 4, Cleary 2
The second game did not have the offense of the opener, but the Scots took advantage of some Cleary errors and played sound defense to complete the sweep.
After the Cougars took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning, Alma answered in the bottom half when Peczynski scored on an error, then Carles crossed the plate after a wild pitch to put the Scots up by a 2-1 margin after three frames.
Cleary tied the game in the top of the fifth and Alma responded again, scoring twice to take a 4-2 lead. Carles scored on a passed ball, then Minaudo crossed home plate on a sacrifice fly by Walters.
Freshman Bailey O'Keefe (Midland, Mich./Bullock Creek) threw five innings to get the win, while sophomore Eric Frontzak (Naperville, Ill./Montini Catholic) pitched the final two innings in relief to pick up the save.
The Scots will open play in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association on Saturday, March 26, when they travel to Holland, Mich., for a double header at Hope College. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
QUOTES
Head Coach Jake Sabol
"Anytime you sweep a team it's pretty big, especially in the home opener when guys are ready and excited to play. We got contributions from multiple guys today - guys that haven't been in the lineup very often - and it was good to see. The first game, we had the bats going and the offense rolling a little bit, and then played a little small ball in game two, pitching the ball well and playing a little defense. We won in two different ways, which was good to see."