HOLLAND, Mich. - The Kalamazoo College baseball team played a makeup game on the road at Hope on Monday afternoon (Apr. 10). In a high-scoring affair, the Hornets won an exciting extra-inning contest over the Flying Dutchmen, 15-14.
After the Hornets and Flying Dutchmen went down in order during the first inning, Kalamazoo scored the game's first run in the second. Logan Lockhart reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to second on a Robert Newland single. Cam Kelly knocked Lockhart in on a single to center field. Then, Hope tied the game up in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single.
The Hornet offense had a big inning in the third, scoring six runs on five hits and a walk. Lukas Bolton began the inning with a walk, then Cooper Mills and Harrison Poeszat singled to load the bases. After the Flying Dutchmen threw out a runner at home for the first out, Ryar Rinehart singled in the first run, and a pitch hit Lockhart for the second. Hope cut down another runner at home for the second out, but Kelly came through with a clutch double to left field that cleared the bases. Tanner Hawkins then singled and forced a bad throw by the shortstop that allowed Kelly to cross the plate and make the score 7-1.
Hope returned the favor in the fourth by knocking out Jacob Davis, who started on the bump for the Hornets, after scoring a run and loading the bases. Brenden Oprinski came in from the bullpen to walk in a run and give up a grand slam as the Flying Dutchmen tied the game up. Davis' line ended up being five runs on seven hits and two walks in three innings with six strikeouts.
Oprinski returned for the fifth but did not record an out. Hope scored five more runs to take a 12-7 lead. After three runs scored, Blake Parpart entered the game and surrendered a two-run home run. Oprinski allowed six runs on six hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Parpart finished the inning and had one run charged to his line on a hit and a walk.
Jaden Williams threw the sixth and seventh innings, allowing one run on three hits as the Flying Dutchmen's lead grew to six. Then in the eighth, Kalamazoo put together another big inning to regain the lead. The Hornets loaded the bases as a pitch hit Kelly, Hawkins beat out an infield single, and Bolton singled to left field. After two outs, David Stechow worked a walk to bring in Kelly, Rinehart beat out another infield single, and a pitch hit Lockhart for three runs. Then after a pitching change, Newland blasted his first collegiate home run to straightaway center field as the grand slam gave Kalamazoo a 14-13 lead.
Joe Wade would come in to work a clean eighth inning, allowing two walks and striking out two. Chase Cummins got the call in the ninth, but Hope was able to scratch a run across to force extra innings. Cummins returned for the 10th and held the Flying Dutchmen at bay to complete his outing. He went two innings, allowing one run on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
The Hope defense made a couple of mistakes in the 11th, allowing the Hornets to score the eventual game-winning run. First, Mills reached on a throwing error by the shortstop and then made it to third from a bad throw on a pickoff attempt. Eventually, Mills scored on a wild pitch to give Kalamazoo the one-run lead. Gabe Sokol came in from the bullpen, looking to close the game. He had to work around a batter reaching on a wild pitch after a strikeout and a balk, but Sokol got a groundout, strikeout, and a flyout to end the game. Cummins (1-1) earned the win, and Sokol collected his first collegiate save.
The bottom part of the lineup did most of the work as Rinehart and Hawkins both went 3-5. Rinehart also had two runs scored, two RBI, and a walk. Kelly was 2-4 with four RBI, two runs scored, and a walk. Newland had the big hit for four RBI, finishing with two hits and two runs scored. Bolton had two hits and a walk in the leadoff spot, and Lockhart scored three times and knocked in two more.
Kalamazoo will quickly return to work tomorrow with a road doubleheader at Albion, beginning at 2 p.m.