ANGOLA, Ind. - The Trine University baseball nine earned a split with Olivet College falling 6-2 in game one before taking game two 5-0 as they maintained the third sport in the conference rankings. The Thunder pushed their record to 17-15 on the year and 12-8 in the MIAA.
In the opener, Olivet took a 4-0 lead with three runs in the fourth and another run in the fifth. The damage could have been worse, but the Thunder turned a 4-6-3 double play to end the fourth inning.
In the sixth, Trine scored their lone runs of the game as the Thunder cut the Comets lead in half. Sophomore Jordan Baer (Fort Wayne, Ind./Leo) led off the inning with a single through the right side. Two outs later fellow sophomore R.J. Flowers (Hamilton, Mich./Hamilton) walked to bring up freshman Kory Shackle (Butler, Ohio/Mount Vernon). He would knock in both runs on a double to the right center gap.
Olivet added another run in the seventh as the Thunder were unable to mount a bottom of the seventh comeback.
Sophomore Jakeb Briscoe (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) took the loss on the mound for the Thunder going 3 1/3 innings while allowing three runs, just one earned, on five hits. Junior Jeremy Spaulding (Toledo, Ohio/Toledo Central Catholic) came on to pitch three innings, also giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits. Senior Nick Cocanower (Elkhart, Ind./Concord) came on for the final 2/3 inning, striking out a batter and surrendering two hits.
In the second game, it was all Thunder from the start as they plated three runs in the first as senior Jake Rightnowar (Oregon, Ohio/Toledo Christian) cruised on the mound pitching a three-hit shutout.
In the bottom of the first, freshman Carter Stafford (Waterloo, Ind./DeKalb) led off the inning with an infield single. Stafford would steal second, move to third on a wild pitch and then score on the sacrifice fly by senior Tom Wilder (Petersburg, Mich./Summerfield). Baer would double down the left field line to score senior Matt Zurbriggen (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) who had walked. After a two-out walk to sophomore Ethan Prebynski (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb), freshman Mike Seaman (Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota West) singled through the right side to plate another run.
In the fourth, Trine would add another run with two outs. After junior Adam Sullivan (Fort Wayne, Ind./Elmhurst) had reached on a walk, he would advance to third on a groundout to third and then score on the play on an Olivet error.
The Thunder would tack on another run in the fifth as Sullivan doubled to right center, scoring Prebynski who had reached on a walk.
Rightnowar pitched his second career shutout, as he let the defense do most of the work as he struck out just one batter while not walking an Olivet batter over seven innings.
Stafford and Baer led Trine for the day with three hits in the series. Shackle and Sullivan each added a pair of hits on the afternoon.
Trine gets right back to action as they travel to Kalamazoo for a conference doubleheader on April 27 at 1:00 p.m.