KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Kalamazoo College baseball team played its seventh game in six days at home against Hope on Wednesday afternoon (Apr. 12). After just winning a 15-14 extra-inning affair against Hope on Monday (Apr. 10), the Hornets secured a series win with a 5-4 victory over the Flying Dutchmen. Kalamazoo has started conference play 7-1, has won its last six games, and has won its previous 14 of 15 games.
Hope got on the board first with a run in the first inning and two more in the second. Gabe Sokol started on the mound for the Hornets, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts in four innings. He was just one inning short of qualifying for the win.
Kalamazoo's offense finally got to the Flying Dutchmen starter in the fourth, scoring four runs on three hits, a walk, and a hit by pitch. Ryar Rinehart led off the inning with a walk and was brought in on a David Stechow RBI double to deep center field. After a pitch hit Cam Kelly, Logan Lockhart ripped a double into the right-center field gap to allow Stechow and Kelly to score. A Tanner Hawkins single moved Lockhart to third, and then Lukas Bolton laid down a safety squeeze bunt as Lockhart dashed home for the 4-2 lead. The Hornets got an insurance run in the fifth as Harrison Poeszat began the inning with a single and was eventually brought in on a two-out knock by Kelly.
Joe Wade (3-0) followed Sokol out of the bullpen and earned the win after throwing two and two-thirds innings, with the one run coming off a solo home run in the seventh. Then, Brenden Oprinski shut down Hope, recording the last seven outs without a hit or walk allowed, and struck out five for the save (1).
Poeszat, Stechow, and Hawkins recorded two base hits, with Stechow and Lockhart collecting the two extra-base hits in doubles. Lockhart drove in two runs, with Bolton, Stechow, and Kelly receiving the other RBI.
Kalamazoo will have an off-day before beginning a three-game series with Calvin on Friday (Apr. 14) at Woodworth Field, with the first pitch set for 4 p.m.