ANDERSON, Ind. – The Alma College baseball team hit the road across state lines once again for a weekend series with the Ravens of Anderson University in Indiana. The Scots battled in game one falling in the final innings before rewriting the script and winning in the final inning in game two for a split on day one.
The Ravens opened the scoring in the top of the third inning with a two-run shot for their first lead of the game, forcing the Scots offense to come to life. The top of the fourth saw Alma put their first runs if the game on the board, starting with a Luke Lindsay double and a ground out which advanced him to third. The Ravens would make a mistake with a wild pitch, that gave way to Lindsay to score at home, cutting the Anderson lead in half. Following the scoring play, Alexander Kavalick reached first on a walk and advanced to second on a Cameron Bleasdale single to right field. Giuseppe Sapienza continued his strong batting as of late, with an RBI single up the middle, tying the game at 2-2. Anderson followed back with two solo home runs to take another two-run lead after four innings.
A Scots response came in the top of the sixth as Kyler Warren led off the inning with a double to center field, followed by a Bleasdale single. Ryan Kracht then singled to shortstop, scoring Warren and bringing the Scots within one. Alma added additional run support in the seventh as Brant Goodpaster doubled down the left field line and advanced to third on the throw, which also scored Lindsay who reached first on a walk. With the game tied, Warren then knocked down a base hit, scoring Goodpaster and giving Alma their first lead of the game, 5-4. Anderson regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh with two runs, while adding two more in the eighth, putting the Scots away 8-5 in game one of the afternoon.
Tyler Johnson started the game on the mound for Alma, pitching for six innings and recording five strikeouts, his first game below double-digits this season. Josh West, Tommy Ches and Evan Litwiller came in as relief for game one as well.
Game two follows the script of game one as runs were few and far between in the pitching battle for the evening. Anderson scored the first run of the game in the fourth inning, taking the first lead of the game as well. Bleasdale responded in the fifth with a solo home run over the right field wall, tying the game back up, 1-1. Alma tacked on some more runs in the sixth with Tony Smith taking a pitch to the body and Goodpaster singling through the left side. Kavalick then sent a double to right field, scoring both Smith and Goodpaster, giving Alma a 3-1 lead.
The Ravens added a solo run in the bottom of the sixth and seventh to tie the game back at 3-3, before adding an additional lone run in the eighth, taking the lead 4-3 with three outs left for the Scots. Bleasdale kicked off the ninth with a walk and stole second. Sapienza was also walked as well. Kracht then came in as a pinch hitter for a sacrifice bunt, advancing both runners into scoring position with one out. Charlie Martyn then sent Bleasdale home on a sacrifice fly to tie the game, with two outs now. Mitch Foley would also wear a pitch followed by Smith drawing a walk to load the bases with Goodpaster stepping up to the plate. Goodpaster then singled to left field in a clutch moment, scoring both runners at second and third, giving Alma a 6-4 lead, heading into the bottom of the ninth. The Ravens were able to notch one run in the final inning, but their comeback bid was not enough as Alma took game two, 6-5.
Cole Grunwald started game two on the mound, going for five and a third with six strikeouts. Tyler Sparks, Tyler Lasley, Ken Fistler and Alex Hardacre all saw action on the mound in relief, with Hardacre collecting three strikeouts and collecting the win.
Alma will return to action against Anderson tomorrow morning starting at 10:00 AM for another doubleheader, moving earlier with the weather forecast as well.
