RICHMOND, Ind. - The Kalamazoo College baseball team lost its season opener 7-0 at Earlham College on Saturday.
Kalamazoo stranded a pair of runners in the top of the first and Earlham responded with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom half to take the early lead.
The host Quakers used a four-run fifth inning to make it a 6-0 game after the Hornets left a runner on second base in the third.
Kalamazoo left two runners on base again in the sixth and another in the seventh before Earlham added another unearned run in the bottom of the seventh to take a 7-0 lead.
The Hornets had a runner on in the eighth and ninth, but were unable to push a run across.
"It's always an adjustment moving outdoors and we saw that in our first game today," said Kalamazoo Head Coach Mike Ott. "We were not as sharp as we expect to be and a few plays made the difference today. We were off system and showed our youth in not being able to make the necessary adjustments over the course of the game."
Earlham scored seven runs on nine hits with two Kalamazoo errors while the Hornets had zero runs on seven hits.
"Having runners on base in seven of the nine innings is a good start," Ott said, "but Earlham was more fundamentally sound today and executed in those situations better than us."
Scott Devine had two hits for Kalamazoo, including a double. Mario Ferrini, Ian Kobernick, Carter Chandler, Brett Garwood and Mitchell VanKoevering each singled for the Hornets.
Adam McDowell (0-1) took the loss on the mound in 4 2/3 innings. Dylan Pierce, Zack Cole and Jordan Stainforth did not allow an earned run in relief appearances.
Kalamazoo returns to action on Sunday with a doubleheader at Earlham beginning at noon.
"While it's not how we wanted to start, it's just one game and we have to be ready to go tomorrow for two 9-inning games."