ADRIAN, Mich. – Senior pitcher Eric Schmidt was a strike away from a no-hitter in game one on Saturday in an 8-0 win over Alma College. Pinch hitter Pat Finn singled to short on a 0-2 pitch preventing Schmidt from his first career no-hitter. The Bulldogs picked up a sweep of Alma as they needed extra innings in game two before winning 3-2 in nine innings on a bases loaded walk to sophomore Ryan Dorow.
The Bulldogs improved to 8-0 at Nicolay Field this season and have now won nine of their last 10 games standing atop the MIAA standings at 12-2. Adrian jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning as the first four batters reached. Josh Knorr walked and Dorow followed with a RBI triple to right center. Jeff Gertley drew a walk and then Drew Shutes smoked a RBI single to right center as Gertley took third. Miccoy Drzewiecki lifted a sacrifice fly to right field allowing Gertley to score the third run.
The Bulldogs added two more runs in the third courtesy of a mammoth two-run home run to deep right off the bat of Gertley. He pummeled his sixth of the season for a 5-0 lead. Adrian finished the scoring with three runs in the fourth. Erik Frontzak came into relieve Colin Nash and Knorr started things with a one-out single. Knorr stole second and then Dorow drew a walk. Gertley then ripped a triple off the wall in right for his third and fourth RBI of the game and a 7-0 lead. Shutes had a RBI single through the left side scoring Gertley.
Schmidt improved to 5-1 this season with his second shutout. He allowed two walks and tied a career-high with 10 strikeouts. Schmidt threw 100 pitches and found the strike zone 67 times in the gem. Nash gave up five earned runs in three innings and threw 63 pitches. Frontzak tossed three relief innings and allowed seven hits and three earned runs. Five Bulldogs had multiple hits including John Joseph going 2-for-3 with his first double of the season.
The second game was a much different story as Adrian struggled offensively against Alma starter Matt Launstein. He did not allow a hit until a Drzewiecki single to lead off the fifth with Adrian trailing 2-0. Tommy Eng yielded single runs in the first and second against the Scots but then settled in to keep them off the board the rest of the way. The Bulldogs knotted things up at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth. Dorow walked with one out and Gertley singled to right to put the tying runs on base. Philip Jock entered replacing Launstein and Shutes bunted both runners over. Drzewiecki came up with clutch two-out double on a 1-2 pitch to tie the game.
Eng lasted seven innings before giving the ball to freshman Collin Korte in the top of the eighth. Eng allowed six hits, one walk and punched out four. Alma put a runner in scoring position with one out in the eighth but Korte struck out the next two batters to end the threat. Adrian started off the eighth with a Dorow double and an intentional walk to Gertley. They could not capitalize however and the game moved into the ninth. Korte struck out the side in the ninth setting up the final at-bat for the Bulldogs.
Matt Andrus singled through the right side and was replaced by Brian Killinger at first. Ben Yax singled on a 1-2 count to move Killinger into scoring position. Knorr drew a walk on five pitches to load the bases and bring up Dorow. He battled in an eight-pitch at-bat and followed off three pitches before drawing the game-winning RBI walk in the 3-2 victory. Korte improved to 3-0 this season and lowered his ERA to 2.61. Eric Stickler was the fifth pitcher of the game for Alma and took the loss (0-1). Drzewiecki continued his hot spring and is now 19-for-46 at the plate batting a team-high .413 with six doubles and 10 RBI. The same two teams will play two more in Alma on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m.