OLIVET, Mich.-- The Trine baseball team pounded out 30 hits and got two strong pitching efforts to sweep Olivet Tuesday afternoon at Cutler Athletic Complex.
The Thunder took game one in dominating fashion, scoring 15 runs on 16 hits while Vinny Slobodecki (Carol Stream, Ill. / Glenbard North) tossed his first career shutout in the 15-0 win. Trine followed that up with a 14-hit effort to back a solid start by Brandon Mylcraine (Plainfield, Ind. / Plainfield) to win game two 8-3. Drew Palmer (Hartford, Wis. / Hartford Union) and Kory Shackle (Butler, Ohio / Mount Vernon) each homered for the Thunder. Palmer extended his hitting streak to 11 games. Trine improved to 10-8 overall and 6-2 in the MIAA, good for a three-way tie for second in the conference. Olivet fell to 4-12, 1-7 in conference action.
Game One: Trine 15, Olivet 0
The Thunder got all it needed in the first and Slobodecki did the rest on the mound in the game one victory.
Trine put up a seven spot in the first inning. Zach Thorn (Portage, Ind. / Portage) got the scoring started, clearing the bases with a three-run double. Zach Seder (Saginaw, Mich. / Valley Lutheran) followed with his first career triple to score Thorn. Thorn and Seder each had three hits and drove in three runs in game one. Each player had two extra-base hits in the game.
Jacob Heller's (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Prairie Heights) RBI-single and a two-run double by Colton Conn (Cincinnati, Ohio / Indian Hill) capped off the big first inning. Heller knocked in three runs on the day and has now picked up an RBI in each of the last five games. Conn matched Seder and Thorn with three RBIs in the game.
The Thunder added two runs in the second, highlighted by a Spencer Sutton (Chesterton, Ind. / Chesterton) RBI-single. Palmer made the Trine lead 10-0 an inning later as he launched his first home run of the season to right field. The homer was the second of Palmer's career.
Conn, Palmer and Bob Ross (Valparaiso, Ind. / Washington Township) would add RBIs in the fifth, before Seder capped the scoring with a two-run double.
Every Trine player in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit in the game. The Thunder notched eight extra-base hits and had five players notch multi-hit efforts.
Slobodecki went the full seven innings for his first collegiate shutout and second-consecutive victory. The junior allowed five hits, did not walk a batter and struck five to improve to 2-1 this season.
Game Two: Trine 8, Olivet 3
The Thunder once again got a strong pitching effort and pounded out 14 hits in the game two victory.
Mylcraine worked six innings to earn his first victory of the season. The senior allowed two earned runs on three hits, walked three and struck out a career-high six. The win evened his record at 1-1 on the year.
Two runs each in the third and fourth got things started for Trine. Heller drove in the first run of the game with an RBI-single, while Palmer picked up a RBI on an error. Heller and Conn added RBI-singles in the fourt for a 4-0 Thunder lead.
A sac fly by Kevin O'Malley (Commerce Township, Mich. / Walled Laked Central) and an RBI-single by Palmer extended the lead to 6-0.
The Comets got two back on a two-run single by Zach Kitzmiller in the bottom of the sixth, but Shackle answered in the top of the seventh. The senior connected on his first homer of the season, clearing the wall in left-center for his second-career home run.
A sacrifice fly by Seder accounted for Trine's final run. An RBI-double by Andrew Dayfield provided Olivet's final run.
The victory in game two gives the Thunder a 4-0 record in nine-inning conference games. The MIAA adopted the new format of playing one seven-inning and one nine-inning game in doubleheaders in conference play this year.
Trine returns to action this Saturday, Apr. 9 for a key doubleheader with MIAA-leader Alma. First pitch against the Scots is scheduled for 1 p.m.