JACKSONVILLE, Ill. - The Kalamazoo College baseball team remained unbeaten in a 13-5 win over Wartburg to finish the round-robin tournament on Sunday (Mar. 10). The Hornets improved to 9-0, and the Knights dropped to 8-2.
Scoring Plays
Both teams exchanged solo home runs in the first inning as Harrison Poeszat tied the game up at one after sending one over the fence.
Kalamazoo took the lead in the second inning after scoring five runs in the frame. After loading the bases with two outs, Cooper Mills drove in two on a single, and Poeszat collected another two RBI on a single of his own. The inning ended with a double steal as David Stechow occupied the defense long enough for Poeszat to score before being tagged out.
Two more runs were scored in the third inning, with Lukas Bolton collecting an RBI single and Cam Kelly laying down a safety squeeze bunt to bring in Alex Fenkell. After Wartburg hit a two-run home run in the top half of the first inning, the Hornets responded with another two runs. Robert Newland drove in two on a double to make the score 10-3.
Poeszat continued his big weekend with a two-run double in the fifth inning to gain a nine-run lead. That lead became 10 in the sixth inning as Cade Preissing lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in Bolton. Wartburg scored the final two runs of the day on another two-run home run in the seventh inning.
Pitching
Braden Mussat (2-0) got the win after allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Ben Van Nes threw a scoreless fifth and sixth innings with two strikeouts. Brenden Oprinski earned a three-inning save (3), allowing two runs on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
Hitting
Harrison Poeszat was a triple shy of hitting for a cycle after going 3-4 with five RBI. Cooper Mills, David Stechow, Robert Newland, Alex Fenkell, and Lukas Bolton all had two hits today. Mills and Newland also drove in two runs each.
Statistics
2B: Fenkell (3), Newland (5), Poeszat (3)
3B: none
HR: Poeszat (2)
RBI: Poeszat 5 (21), Mills 2 (11), Newland 2 (4), Bolton (8), Kelly (9), Preissing (11)
SF: Preissing (2)
SB: Stechow 2 (8), Newland 2 (7), Bolton (3), Fenkell (3), Kelly (2), Lockhart (1)
BB: Fenkell 2 (4), Preissing 2 (10), Kelly (7), Mills (10), Stechow (4)
HBP: Bolton (3), Newland (8), Poeszat (1)
(Season Total)
Up Next
Kalamazoo will play at Defiance next in a doubleheader on Saturday, Mar. 16, beginning at noon.