ALBION, Mich. — The Albion baseball team walked it off against Trine in extra innings, 5-4, in Game 1 and defeated the Thunder in Game 2, 6-0, to take a one-game lead over Olivet for fourth in the MIAA standings.
The Britons also won their 20th game of the season, their first such year since 2019 when they went 22-20 and made the MIAA Tournament. It is also just their sixth 20-win campaign since 2000.
Game 1
The Thunder scored Game 1's first three runs, all in the second inning. Two were scored as a result of an error, while the third was on a sacrifice fly.
Trine cashed in again in the sixth on an RBI single to make it 4-0.
The Britons' comeback started in the home half of the frame when
Carter Stahl singled to score
Jack LaPorte and get on the board.
Two batters later,
Max Holser delivered a three-run blast to deep right field to knot the game up at 4-4.
In the eighth, the Thunder put two runners on with one out but
Tyler Murphy closed the door with two consecutive strikeouts to end the threat.
Pushing to extra innings, Murphy led off with a walk followed by a Holser sacrifice bunt to put Murphy in scoring position.
Two batters later,
Drew Ribble poked a single to center field to score Murphy for the walk off.
Albion tallied 13 hits, including three each from
Gavin White and Ribble.
Daniel Bruzdewicz pitched magnificently on the mound with seven innings allowing no walks and striking out five. Murphy got the win after throwing the final three frames while striking out four.
Game 2
The Britons jumped all over the Thunder in the first with four runs. Stahl notched an RBI double, while Holser posted a two-RBI two-bagger.
Logan DeVos hit a single to plate the other run.
Stahl notched another RBI on a single in the second to make it 5-0, and
Evan Schuster hit a sacrifice fly in the third for the game's final run in what resulted in a seven-inning game.
The Britons posted 11 hits, with four players recording multi-hit games.
Brendan Schultz threw a gem on the mound, going all seven innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts. The only baserunner he allowed was on a single on the first pitch of the game.
Up Next
Albion will look to take more of an advantage in the MIAA standings with one game against the Thunder in Angola on Sunday, April 27 at 1 p.m.
