ALMA, Mich. – The Alma College baseball team wrapped up the season series with the Cleary University Cougars on Sunday, March 9th, in Howell, Michigan. The Scots rebounded after the first doubleheader to score two dominant wins, earning a series split for the weekend.
In the opener for Sunday's games, Cleary humped out and scored the first run in the first inning off a single with two runners on base. Alma would hold the Cougars to just the one run before taking their swing at offense. Luke Lindsay led the Scots off with a ground-rule double and then was followed by a walk from Brant Goodpaster. Kyler Warren found his groove from yesterday and proceeded to hit another deep fly ball over the left field fence for a three-run shot, giving Alma the lead. The Scots scoring did not stop there as Cameron Bleasdale would single towards first base, followed by Giuseppe Sapienza, who would double down the left field line, putting both runners into scoring position. Ryan Kracht then stepped up to the plate and hit a high fly ball over the center field wall for the second three-run shot of the inning from the Scots. Alma ended the first inning with a 6-1 lead over the Cougars.
Both teams would stay off the board in the second inning, though the Scots added some additional support in the bottom of the third. Sapienza led the inning off with a triple to left center, followed by Krach wearing a pitch on the sleeve. Kracht then stole second during the next at-bat. Sapienza would ultimately score on a balk for the Scots seventh run as Kracht would advance to third in the process. Kracht then scored on a passed ball during the next at-bat to add insult to injury for the Cougars.
The fourth again saw the Cougars stay off the board, while the Scots added additional run support again. Goodpaster and Bleasdale would reach base on walks while Warren reached on a hit by pitch, loading the bases for Alma. A base hit by Sapienza would create chaos for Cleary as all three runners would score following an error during the play, giving Alma an 11-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. The Cougars found life on offense and added two runs in the fifth, cutting the Scots lead down to eight before adding another three runs in the sixth, to bring the game within five.
In the sixth, Alexander Kavalick collected a walk and Bleasdale was struck by a pitch, putting baserunners on. Sapienza continued to add to a stellar game with a ground-rule double scoring Lucas Dunham, who was pinch running for Kavalick. Kracht then scored Bleasdale on a single to right field, bring the score to 13-6, the eventual final score of game one.
Hayden Hileman started the game on the bump for Alma, pitching four innings and racking up seven strikeouts, while recording his first win on the season. William Fockler, Chase Balhoff and Ken Fistler came in as relief, with Balhoff adding three more strikeouts and Fistler adding one more.
After a short break on a sunny Sunday afternoon, game two was ready to get underway. Again, Cleary scored the initial run of the game off a single, putting the Scots behind early. Goodpaster was Alma's first base runner in the bottom of the first with a walk, then proceeding to steal second. A ground-rule double from Warren would be enough to score Goodpaster and tie the game at ones heading into the second.
On offense, in the bottom of the second, Jack McIntosh singled up the middle for Alma's first base runner. Stephen McGlade knocked a double down the left field line following after, putting runners on second and third with one out. Mitch Foley also doubled towards left field, scoring both McIntosh and McGlade, putting the Scots up 3-1. Following a ground out and advancing Foley to third, Goodpaster collected a base hit to right field and sent Foley across home plate, putting Alma up 4-1.
The Scots scored their fifth run of the game in the third as Kavalick reached first on an error and advanced to second. Sapienza continued to stay hot at the plate with a single to left field, scoring Kavalick for number five.
Alma lathered on the runs in the fourth starting off with Foley reaching first on an error and then stealing second. Goodpaster then knocked a base hit into center field, scoring Foley for the first run of the inning. Following a pitching change for the Cougars, Warren would be awarded a ground-rule double, putting Alma runners on second and third. Kavalick would score Goodpaster on a ground out to short, leaving Warren at third. The next batter, Bleasdale singled to right field, scoring Warren for the third run of the inning. Bleasdale then stole second during the next at bat, which would result in a Sapienza single to left field, enough to score Bleasdale from second. After a McIntosh single and a McGlade walk, with the bases loaded, Foley then singled scoring Sapienza, giving Alma their fifth run of the inning, now leading 10-3.
The Scots added three quick runs in the fifth inning as Goodpaster led off with a triple to right center. Warren then followed behind with his own triple to right center, scoring Goodpaster. Directly following, Kavalcik, also knocked a triple to right center, scoring Warren. Following the historical three consecutive triples, Sapienza singled to left field, which would score Kavalick, putting Alma up 13-3.
In the bottom of the sixth, Foley led the inning off with a hit by pitch, followed by a fielder's choice by Goodpaster and Warren reaching first on an error. With runners on first and second, Kavalick joined the home run fun with a three-run shot of his own over the right field wall, giving Alma a 16-3 lead at the end of six. A solo run from Cleary in the seventh would not be enough for a comeback as Alma would win game two on the day, 16-4.
Cade Sutherland started game two on the mound, going for four innings and striking out five, while also picking up his first collegiate win as a starter. Freshman Tommy Ches came in as relief for three innings, collecting six strikeouts of his own as Alma relied on young arms for game two.
Alma will now look towards a busy weekend as they will head to Indiana to face Anderson University for a four-game series starting on Saturday at 1:00 PM. Following the two-day series with the Ravens, the Scots will also play an additional two games on Monday in Indiana against Franklin College, starting at 1:00 PM as well, for six games in three days.
