ALBION, Mich. – Give Albion College credit for it did not lie down after a 19-7 setback to Hope College in the first game of a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association baseball doubleheader at Frank Joranko Field. Game two was a back-and-forth affair – Adam Mazza's (Macomb/Dakota) second career homerun boosted Albion to a 5-4 lead in the sixth – but the Britons wound up with a 6-5 loss.

Albion fell back to .500 in the league with eight games remaining. The Britons begin a four-game MIAA series with Calvin with a home doubleheader at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Albion built a 2-0 lead in game two as Eric Shimmel (Warren/Cousino) produced a RBI single in the first and Dan Mills (Northville) scored on a throwing error in the third. Hope erased the lead with one swing as Chris Mattson sent a three-run homerun over the left field fence in the fourth. The Flying Dutchmen extended the margin to 4-2 in the fifth when Eric Dawson slapped a RBI single up the middle.

Albion tied the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the fourth as Davin Montgomery (Novi/Northville) singled and Chuck DeClarke (Holt/Lansing Catholic Central) doubled. The runners crossed the plate on sacrifice flies by Shimmel and John Gignac (Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Central).

Jon Ponte hit a one-out single in the seventh to tie the score at 5-5 and Josh Kranz's two-out single drove in the tying run.

B.J. Konkle (Marshall) provided the highlight in game one when he hit a seventh-inning grand slam. Konkle, who also hit a double, finished game one with five runs batted in.

Mazza and Shimmel finished the day with three hits apiece.