GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.--Junior Tristin Richardson reached the 100-hit milestone on Friday to fuel nationally-ranked Adrian to an 11-3 thrashing of host Calvin in the opener of their four-game Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association baseball series. Senior Dugan Darnell also reached 100 career hits in the second game, helping the Bulldogs to a 12-3 victory.
THE BASICS
= Final Scorelines: Game 1--Adrian College 11-18-1, Calvin College 3-5-1; Game 2--Adrian 12-12-1, Calvin 3-9-4
= Location: Calvin Knights Field, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Weather: Partly Cloudy, 52 degrees, Wind SW 23 mph
= Records: Adrian Bulldogs 18-4 overall (11-1 MIAA); Calvin Knights 9-15 overall (5-9 MIAA)
= National Rankings: Adrian is No. 15 by American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (291 points) and No. 17 by the D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (233) poll.
TOP 'DAWGS
= Richardson finished the first game 3-for-3, including a pair of doubles, with a season-high four runs batted in from the No. 8 spot in the lineup.
= Senior Zack Zschering went 2-for-4 with a run scored and RBI as Adrian's leadoff hitter in Game 1.
= Sophomore Thomas Miller, the reigning MIAA Player of the Week, rapped five hits, scored five runs and knocked in three himself to go with a walk during the afternoon.
= Classmate Brandon Cooper recorded three hits and scored twice in the opener.
= Junior Gunner Rainey had six hits, including three doubles, and added four RBI between the two games.
= Sophomore Jordan Williams (W, 5-0) pitched six solid innings for the Game 1-win. He allowed four hits, three runs (2 earned) and a walk with six strikeouts.
= Senior Jesse Marks relieved Williams with a scoreless seventh in which he allowed a hit and got a strikeout. He hasn't allowed a run in his last four appearances over a span of 4.2 innings.
= Darnell was 2-for-5 with a season-high four RBI in the nightcap.
= Junior Brady Wood was 4-for-5, including a double and home run, with five RBI in Game 2.
= Classmate Pierce Banks improved to 5-1 on the season after allowing just five hits, one walk and no earned runs (1R) in six innings of work of Game 2.
THE OPPOSITION
= Jeremy Clark was 3-for-3 with two RBI in the opener. Clark also had a hit in Game 2.
= Ricky Padilla was 2-for-4 with a RBI in the nightcap.
= Ryan Petersen also had two hits in the second contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED, Game 1
= Calvin took a 3-1 lead after the first inning. Clark had a two-run double to center field to give the Knights their only lead. Clark would score from second base on a fielding error to make it a two-run game.
= The Knights' lead proved short-lived, however, as Adrian recorded a three-run frame of its own in the top of the second. Richardson sparked the rally with a RBI-double down the left field line for his milestone hit to draw the visitors within 3-2. Zschering tied it with a sacrifice fly to left field and Miller--who homered in the top of the first--hit a RBI-double to right to reclaim the lead for the Bulldogs.
= Richardson made it 5-3 with a sacrifice fly in the third and he doubled the lead with a RBI double to center field in the fifth.
= Adrian got three insurance runs in the sixth to put the game away. Rainey had a two-run single up the middle and Richardson produced a RBI-single through the right side to make it 9-3.
= The Bulldogs outhit the Knights, 18-5.
HOW IT HAPPENED, Game 2
= Adrian never trailed and built a 7-0 advantage after two innings. Miller scored on a throwing error in the first to get things going and Darnell followed with a two-run single to center.
= In the second, Rainey drew a catcher's interference call with the bases loaded to force home the decisive run. Darnell capped the rally with another RBI-single, this time to right-center.
= In a three-run fourth, Wood drove a two-run blast over the left field fence to stake Adrian to a comfortable 10-1 cushion.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
= Adrian holds a commanding 98-75 all-time lead (45-38 on the road) in the series against Calvin.
= Richardson became the 38th member of the Bulldog 100-hit club with a double in the second inning of game one. He now has 102 in his 98-game career.
= Darnell is the 39th player in school history after connecting on a two-run single in the first inning of the second game. He now has 101 career hits in 108 games.
= Banks ties Jeff Nokovich (20-14 from 2003-06) for eighth place on Adrian's all-time pitching wins chart. Banks is 20-4 lifetime with 164 career strikeouts--seventh in school annals.
= The Bulldogs tied idle Hope College for first place in the MIAA standings, with identical 11-1 conference marks.
= Rainey recaptures the conference RBI lead with 33 this season, followed by No. 2 Miller with 30.
= Banks and Williams tie teammate Max Denny with five wins for tops in the MIAA.
= Banks and Williams now list second and fourth in MIAA strikeouts with 37 and 34, respectively.
= The Bulldogs have won seven games in a row, a season's best, since suffering a 7-0 loss to MIAA foe Kalamazoo at home on April 1. Since that time, Adrian has outscored opponents 82-17 with two shutouts.
UP NEXT
= These same two teams meet again for another MIAA doubleheader at Adrian's Nicolay Field Saturday afternoon, starting at 1 p.m.
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