ADRIAN, Mich.-- The Trine baseball team was swept by Adrian in a MIAA doubleheader Friday afternoon at Nicolay Field.
A complete game effort from starting pitcher Tommy Parsons led the Bulldogs to a 2-1 victory in game one. Adrian followed that up with a 14-hit effort to defeat the Thunder 9-2 in game two. Jacob Heller (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Prairie Heights) led Trine with a four-hit day. He has now reached base via a hit or walk in each of the last 21 games. The losses drop the Thunder to fifth in the MIAA with a 12-10 mark in conference play. Trine is 16-17 overall. Adrian improved to 25-9 overall and 19-3 in league games.
Game One: Adrian 2, Trine 1
The Bulldogs got the best of the Thunder in the game one pitcher's duel behind the complete game effort by Parsons.
Parsons allowed one earned run on five hits to improve to 8-1 on the season. He did not walk a batter and struck out five.
Ben Wheaton (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Hackett Catholic Central) turned in another strong start to nearly match Parsons' effort. Wheaton allowed two earned runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out one. The sophomore fell to 4-3 on the season.
After three scoreless frames, the Thunder struck first in the top of the fourth. A one-out double by Heller put Trine in business. Bob Ross (Valparaiso, Ind. / Washington Township) followed with a bouncing single through the middle to score Heller and make the score 1-0.
Adrian knotted up the score 1-1 in the bottom half of the frame as Brian Guck singled home Jeff Gertley with two outs.
The Thunder flashed the leather over the next couple innings to keep the game tied. Kory Shackle (Butler, Ohio / Mount Vernon) gunned down a runner at the plate for a double play to close out the fifth. J.J. LaBounty (Avon, Ind. / Covenant Christian) later added a diving play up the middle with one out in the sixth to save the go-ahead run for the moment.
Gunnar Glodich's RBI-single scored Gertley to negate LaBounty's tough play and give the Bulldogs the 2-1 lead. Glodich's hit proved to be the game-winner.
Game Two: Adrian 9, Trine 2
The Bulldogs scored eight of their runs in the middle innings to secure the victory in game two.
The first of four of Ryan Dorow's hits in game two got Adrian on the board in the bottom of the first as he knocked in a run with a double. Trine answered back on Drew Palmer's (Hartford, Wis. / Hartford Union) RBI-groundout in the third.
The Bulldogs scored three times in the bottom of the third to take a 4-1 lead. Adrian added four more in the fourth, including a two-run triple by Dorow. The shortstop finished game two with four hits and three RBIs. Brian Killinger and Gertley added RBIs in the inning. Killinger added another RBI in the fifth.
The Thunder added its second run on a wild pitch. Trine did total 12 hits in game two, but was unable to take advantage as the Thunder stranded 15 runners.
Colton Conn (Cincinnati, Ohio, Indian Hill) notched three hits in game two. Conn saw a 16-game hitting streak snapped in game one, but is still batting .412 over his last 18 games.
The two teams conclude their MIAA series tomorrow at Jannen Field. First pitch has been moved up to 11 a.m. in hopes of avoiding poor weather forecasted for late afternoon. Trine will honor its eight seniors between the two games tomorrow.