ALMA, Mich. – The Alma College baseball team took on the Adrian Bulldogs in the first game of the MIAA Tournament at Klenk Park on Wednesday, May 10th. The Scots pulled away with a victory in a contest that saw some fireworks early on, though Alma held on at the end to advance in the winner's bracket.

Kicking things off in the first inning, Adrian was able to put runners on the bases early which resulted in them tallying two runs in the top of the inning to take an early lead. The Scots took their firsts at bats of the game looking to reciprocate what the Bulldogs put together. Avery Carnicom collected the first hit of the game for the Scots with a single to third base. Cole Grunwald followed behind with the second hit of the game as he put a ball all the way to the wall in right center for a triple that would score Carnicom and cut the Bulldogs lead in half. Kyler Warren tied the game as he sent Grunwald home on a sacrifice fly to center field which gave enough time for the tag up at third. With two outs, Stephen McGlade stepped into the batter's box with the bases empty. McGlade eyed a pitch down a put a hard swing on it resulting in a high fly ball over the left center wall for a solo homerun and a Scots lead, 3-2 after the first.

Alma would hold the Bulldogs off the board until the fifth inning, though the Scots would score a run in every inning leading up to the fifth. In the second, Mitch Foley doubled down the left field line and advanced to third on a wild pitch, putting one of Alma's fastest runners just 90 feet away. Kevin Tuttle would single to left field giving way for Foley to cross home and take a two-run lead. In the third, Grunwald reached first on a single to left field and he would advance to second on a wild pitch. Ethan Krafft would record the RBI with a double to right field scoring Grunwlad and giving Alma a three-run lead. The fourth saw Tuttle single to left center with two outs for the Scots. Carnicom doubled into left center which sent Tuttle around third and across homeplate for the Scots sixth run of the game and the fourth straight inning with a run scored. 

The game started tightening up in the fifth as the Bulldogs bats again found some magic and they were able to score some runs. Adrian put up three runs in the top of the fifth and brought the score to 6-5 with a large amount of game still to be played. In the bottom of the fifth, Alma responded with a run to add some insurance over the Bulldogs. Warren led off the inning with a triple to left center field to put himself into scoring position. McGlade grounded out to shortstop during the next at bat as Warren headed for home and gave the Scots a two-run lead again. Both teams would be held scoreless the rest of the contest but each team had their chances on offense to score and add on to and already action-packed game. 

Tyler Johnson started on the mound for the Scots and went six innings with six strikeouts. Davin Reif came in as the reliever and recorded a strikeout in 1.2 innings while only allowing one hit. Josh West closed out the game pitching the final 1.1 innings and allowed zero hits while picking up his first collegiate save, sending Alma along in the winner's bracket. 

The Scots will now head to Kalamazoo to compete along in the MIAA Tournament for the next two days. With the Scots win, they will now face Kalamazoo College at 10:00 AM on Thursday, May 11th, in the winners bracket with a chance for a spot in the Championship game in the double elimination tournament. 

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Story Credit: Eli Pinter, Sports Information Intern