ALMA, Mich. - The Kalamazoo College baseball team finished the regular season with a 4-2 and 11-10 road doubleheader sweep at Alma on Saturday (May 4). The Hornets won the MIAA Championship for the second consecutive season with a 16-5 record and finished the regular season at 29-9 overall.
GAME ONE
Scoring Plays
Kalamazoo broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning with two runs as walks by Logan Lockhart and Cooper Mills put runners on first and second with one out. Harrison Poeszat placed an RBI single into left field, with Lockhart scoring and Mills moving to third on the throw. Ryar Rinehart lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to allow Mills to score.
Alma tied the game up at two in the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single. The Hornets took the lead for good in the ninth inning as Lockhart hit a one-out solo home run for the lead. Mills added some insurance on an RBI single after Cam Kelly walked and stole second base.
Pitching
Robert Ahlgren was tough through six innings and then allowed the two runs in the seventh after getting one out. He allowed six hits and two walks with a strikeout.
Brenden Oprinski (2-0) escaped the jam in the seventh and threw scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth for the win. He allowed two hits and struck out two.
Hitting
Cooper Mills went 2-4 with a walk, a run scored, an RBI, and a stolen base. Logan Lockhart hit the solo home run, walked twice, and scored two runs.
David Stechow had two hits and a stolen base, while Harrison Poeszat and Ryar Rinehart had the other two RBI. Tanner Hawkins was on base twice with a hit and a walk.
GAME TWO
Scoring Plays
Kalamazoo scored a run in the first inning when Daniel Beccari reached on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded, and Alex Fenkell scored for an RBI. Alma answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-1 lead. The Hornets tied the game up in the second inning as Dillon Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch, and Cade Preissing brought in Fenkell on an RBI single.
In the fourth inning, Kalamazoo regained a 5-3 lead with back-to-back RBI singles by Preissing and Alex DiDio. The Scots had another answer in the fifth to tie the game at five with a bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly.
The Hornet offense exploded in the sixth for six runs and an 11-5 advantage. Preissing brought in Joe Leonard on a sacrifice fly, and DiDio knocked in Fenkell on a single. Then, Beccari's single scored DiDio, and Leo Schinker brought in Blake Parpart (pinch runner for Braden Mussat) and Riley Weber (pinch runner for Beccari). The final run was scored by Caleb Moore as Fenkell was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Alma made things interesting in the later innings by scoring two in the sixth, one in the seventh, and two in the eighth to make it a one-run ball game. However, Kalamazoo shut the comeback down in the ninth for the 11-10 win.
Pitching
Chase Cummins allowed three runs on four hits and a walk in one inning. Joe Wade fired two scoreless innings, and Gabe Sokol needed just six pitches to get through the fourth.
Jaden Williams (2-0) was the winning pitcher of record after allowing two runs with a strikeout in the fifth. Ben Asmus took the sixth and also allowed two runs with a strikeout.
Clayton Kryszak pitched the seventh and allowed one run before Dean Turpin allowed two runs in the eighth with a strikeout. Eric Sheppard earned his first career save after throwing a scoreless ninth with a strikeout.
Hitting
Alex DiDio went 3-5 with a walk, a run scored, and two RBI. Cade Preissing went 2-4 with a walk and three RBI. Alex Fenkell scored four runs after collecting two hits, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch with an RBI.
Daniel Beccari had two RBI with a hit and a walk. Leo Schinker went 2-3 with two RBI and a walk. Braden Mussat recorded two hits, and Joe Leonard was on base twice with a hit and a walk. Liam Regan and Reece Omodio collected a hit each.
Statistics
2B: none
3B: none
HR: Lockhart (5)
RBI: Preissing 3 (14), Beccari 2 (6), DiDio 2 (7), Schinker 2 (3), Fenkell (16), Lockhart (30), Mills (29), Poeszat (61), Rinehart (28)
Sac Fly: Preissing (3)
Sac Bunt: Kelly (3)
SB: Beccari (1), Fenkell (9), Kelly (6), Mills (15), Stechow (18)
BB: Lockhart 2 (13), Beccari (6), DiDio (5), Fenkell (9), Hawkins (22), Kelly (14), Leonard (6), Mills (33), Preissing (13), Rodriguez (2), Schinker (1)
HBP: Bolton (17), Fenkell (9), Moore (2), Newland (22), Rodriguez (4)
(Season Total)
Up Next
Kalamazoo earned the #1 seed in the MIAA Tournament after winning the MIAA Championship and will host games at Woodworth Field on May 8-10. The bracket will be announced at a later date.