DANVILLE, KY. -- The Trine University baseball team concluded its season-opening weekend in Kentucky with a loss against Centre College, 14-4, in seven innings at Gary Wright Field in Danville, Ky.
Centre (6-1) scored a run in both the bottom of the first and second innings and then added to its lead in the third thanks to a three-run homerun to lead 5-0. Trine (1-2) scored three runs of its own in the top half of the fourth inning on RBI-base hits by seniors Chase Hall (Orleans, Ind./Orleans), Nick Ricci (Hebron, Ind./Crown Point) and sacrifice fly by junior Shayne Devine (Valparaiso, Ind./Portage) to make the score 7-3. But the Colonels had an answer in their half of the fourth with a seven-run inning to extend the margin to 12-3.
Both teams scored a run in the fifth inning with Trine's run coming on a run-scoring single by junior Jake Conley (Moline, Ill./Black Hawk CC), but the deficit remained nine runs for the Thunder after five innings of play by a score of 13-4. Centre tacked on a final run in the bottom of the sixth with a sacrifice fly to end the scoring and go on to post the 14-4 win after seven innings.
The Thunder ended the game with six hits with Hall going two-of-three with a run scored and a RBI. Ricci and Conley both ended the game one-of-three at the plate with Ricci adding the RBI and Conley scoring both a run and a RBI.
Five players saw playing time on the mound with junior Drew Bradford (Huntington, Ind./Whitko) getting the start and going three full innings. He allowed five runs on seven hits and had a pair of strikeouts.
Trine will return to action on Sunday, Mar. 1 with a doubleheader against Union (N.Y.) College to start off its annual spring trip to Florida. The first game of the twinbill is scheduled to 11:30 a.m. at the Lake Myrtle Complex in Auburndale, Fla.