Story by Mitch Blankespoor
HOLLAND, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College baseball team swept a doubleheader at Hope Thursday winning game one 4-1 and game two 7-4. The two wins over Hope marks the first time in at least 15 years Kalamazoo has taken both games of a doubleheader against Hope.
"We have had trouble closing games and getting big hits at times this year," Kalamazoo Head Coach Mike Ott said. "Our kids just keep fighting. We have the talent level to play with anyone and we showed that today."
In game one, Kalamazoo grounded into a double play in the first and third inning. In the second, the Hornets were retired in order.
Hornet sophomore pitcher Dylan Pierce danced out of trouble stranding two Hope runners in the first inning. The Flying Dutchmen used three hits to score the first run of the game in the second inning.
In the third, Pierce again kept his team in the game leaving the bases loaded. Neither team scored in the fourth or the fifth inning.
The Kalamazoo bats finally came alive in the sixth inning. The Hornets got two runners on via Hope errors. Freshman Ian Kobernick cleared the bases with a double to left center field giving Kalamazoo a 2-1 lead.
The Hornets were not done. Freshman Brett Garwood and junior Joey Aliotta followed by each doubling to right center field. Each drove in a run making the score 4-1 in favor of Kalamazoo. After a scoreless home half of the sixth inning, freshman Zach Popovich earned his first collegiate save in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore Adam Pierce picked up his second victory of the season.
In the game, Kalamazoo totaled four runs on seven hits with one error while Hope tallied a single run on 10 hits and three errors.
"Dylan [Pierce] is one of the aces in this league," said Ott. We took advantage of a couple of their mistakes."
In game two, Kalamazoo tagged Hope starter Austin Goodyke for three runs on four hits in the first inning fueled by RBI hits from junior Carter Chandler and freshman Mitchell Van Koevering.
Hope got a run back in the second, but would take the lead three innings late in the bottom of the fifth. The Flying Dutchmen scored three runs on four hits and two Kalamazoo errors to take a 4-3 lead after five complete.
After a scoreless sixth inning, Hope brought in Eric Plaehn for the save. Plaehn got senior Mark Zughaib to fly out to right field to start the inning. Van Koevering reached base with a single to left field and the advanced to third on a single up the middle from junior Scott Devine. Chandler then tied the game with a single through the left side.
After a walk, the bases were loaded with Aliotta up to bat. The junior doubled to right field driving in three runs to give Kalamazoo a 7-4 lead. Popovich earned his second save of the day in the home half of the seventh.
"We have a lot of confidence in Zach [Popovich]," Ott said. "He just needed to get some confidence and did that today."
Van Koevering, Devine, and Chandler all tallied at least two hits in game two. Freshman pitcher Ty Rock earned his second win of the season.
Kalamazoo improves to 9-14 on the season and 7-8 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play. The Hornets will play the final two games of the series against Hope at home on Saturday, April 12.