AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Alma College baseball team kicked off their spring break trip in Florida on Sunday, February 25th. The Scots opened the week with a single game against the University of Dubuque, where the Scots came away victorious and handed the Spartans their first loss of the season.
To start the contes, both pitchers found their stuff early on and kept the opposition off the board. Hits were limited by both sides but the ice was finally broken in the bottom of the fifth. In the middle of the inning, Mitch Foley was hit by a pitch and took his base. Kyler Warren singled during the next at bat and advanced Foley to second. Avery Carnicom broke the stalemate as he collected his first triple of the season sending both Foley and Warren to score. Carnicom then scored during the next at bat as Dalton D'Alexander reached first on a wild pitch causing chaos around home plate.
In the top of the eighth, Dubuque put together a comeback bid as they were able to score three runs, all unearned as the inning started off with an error, giving the Spartans a chance to spoil day one. Looked to answer in the bottom of the inning, starting with two walks. Colin Czajkowski reached on a fielder's choice following the walks, keeping runners at first and second. Mac Hawley followed up later in the inning with a single down the right field line and advanced to second on the throw, allowing for both Kevin Tuttle and Czajkowski. To score and retake the lead. Warren took the mound in the eighth and headed back out in the ninth looking to close the game out and start the trip in the win column. Warren got the first two outs on a fly out and a strikeout before letting up a single. Dubuque would add another base runner off of a walk before hitting into a fielder's choice closing out game one of the trip, 5-3, in favor of the Scots.
Both Carnicom and Hawley led the team with two RBIs each and Warren led the Scots at the plate going 3-4 on the day. Starting the day on the mound was Tyler Johnson who pitched five innings and recorded nine strikeouts, allowing zero earned runs. Hayden Hileman came in as relief for two innings, and recorded a strikeout before Warren took over and closed out the game, also collecting the win.
Alma will return to the base paths tomorrow as they will take on the Spartans again at 10:00 AM before taking a short break and returning to play their second of the day against Wartburg College at 1:15 PM.
