HOLLAND, Mich. -- The Trine University baseball team built a six-run lead over the first four innings of the contest but were unable to hold off an Albion College comeback and would fall by the score of 9-6 in the eleventh inning. The loss ends the team's season as they are eliminated from the 2021 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Baseball Tournament.
Trine started the scoring in the very first inning when senior A.J. Mitchell (Emmett, Mich. / Kellogg CC) brought in a run with a single.
After a batter reached on a walk in the second inning sophomore Adam Stefanelli (Westerville, Ohio / Westerville North) brought in the second run of the contest giving the team a 2-0 lead.
Junior Gary DeMartino (Beavercreek, Ohio / Owens C.C.) would then double the lead in the third inning bringing in a pair of runs with a single to left field.
Mitchell and DeMartino would each bring another run home in the bottom of the fourth to give the team a 6-0 lead their largest of the contest.
Freshman Josh Hoogewerf (Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point) started the contest for the Thunder on the mound and pitched a total of 6.2 innings. the first six of those innings were a strong showing as he held the shutout into the seventh inning.
In the top of the seventh, the Britons finally found their offensive rhythm as they brought in five runs to cut the lead to 6-5. They would then tie the contest in the eighth.
Neither team could break that tie until the top of the 11th when Albion plated three runs to take the 9-6 lead and finish off with the victory to eliminate the Thunder from the tournament and ending their season. Trine finishes the year with a 6-28 record.