On Sunday afternoon, the Alma College Baseball team, after a week of bad weather, was finally able to get a doubleheader in against host Kalamazoo College. The Scots earned a sweep on the day with identical 3-0 victories that relied on outstanding pitching and timely hitting against the Hornets.

With the wins, the Scots are now 4-8 in the MIAA and 8-13 overall, while Kalamazoo is now 0-14 in the league and 2-19 for the 2013 season.

"Pitching and defense was the name of the game for us today," said Alma Head Coach Scott Kingston. "We did just enough offensively on the day with 18 hits in the doubleheader. The highlight of the day was two pitching shutouts by Jose Velez and Kevin Thompson."

In the first game, the visiting Scots broke a scoreless tie with a single run in the top of the third inning. So. RF Blake Leddy (Saginaw, Mich./Swan Valley) led off the frame with double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. With one out, Leddy scored on a ground out by Sr. SS Ryan Henris (Saginaw, Mich./Nouvel Catholic).

The Scots made it 2-0 in the top of the fifth when Leddy led off with a single and stole second base. So. PR Adam Ballien (St. Charles, Mich./St. Charles) then pinch ran for Leddy and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Ballien then scored on a sacrifice fly by Fr. CF John Mireles (Lansing, Mich./East Lansing).

Alma scored the final run of the game in their half of the sixth inning as So. 2B Jose Rosado (Corona, NY/Bryant) led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Jr. 1B Alex Kravat (Auburn, Mich./Bay City Western) then single in Rosado for a 3-0 advantage.

So. P Jose Velez (Tampa, Fla./S. Fort Myers) started on the mound and had a no-hitter for 4.1 innings. He pitched six innings on the day and allowed two hits, with three walks and 12 strikeouts to earn the win. So. P Eric Strickler (Lapeer, Mich./Lapeer East) finished the final inning and had two strikeouts to earn his first save of the season.

Mireles went one for two with a RBI and Kravat finished two for three with a RBI. Rosado also had two hits in three at bats with a double and a run scored.

The nightcap was 0-0 until the top of the third when Alma broke threw for two runs and a 2-0 advantage. Mireles led off the frame with a single and stole second base before moving to third on a ground out. With two outs, Sr. DH Cameron Schmidt (Port Austin, Mich./North Huron) walked. Both runners scored on a two RBI double by Kravat.

Alma made it 3-0 in the top of the fourth when Leddy led off with a double and moved to third when Sr. 3B Matthew Cresswell (St. Louis, Mich./St. Louis) reached first on an error. Leddy then scored when Cresswell was picked off first - catcher to first baseman.

Those runs would be all the Scots needed as Jr. P Kevin Thompson (Petoskey, Mich./Petoskey) threw a complete game to earn the shutout win. He allowed just five hits with no walks and three strikeouts.

Mireles finished the second game with three hits in four at bats with a run scored, while Leddy was two for three with one run scored.

The Scots are off until Friday, April 19, when they host Calvin College in a doubleheader at Klenk Park. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.