LAKE MYRTLE, Fl. – The Trine University baseball team split a pair of 7-inning games with John Carroll University on day one of their spring break trip to Florida.
The Thunder (2-3) won game one 1-0 after the teams went scoreless through seven and walked it off in the bottom of the eighth. The Blue Streaks (1-3) were able to take game two in dominant fashion 15-0.
GAME ONE RECAP:
Through the first three innings of play, starting pitcher Josh Hoogewerf [Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point] retired all nine hitters without a ball leaving the infield. The sophomore right-hander sent a pair of John Carroll hitters away with the strikeout.
Two Blue Streaks reached base on a pair of Thunder errors, but Hoogewerf struck out back-to-back batters to leave both of them stranded and keep it at 0-0.
Matt Weis [Trenton, Ill. / Triad] drew a walk in the bottom of the fifth and stole second to try to build momentum, but with two away in the inning it was not enough to plate a run. A two-out single by Brenden Warner [Richland, Mich. / Hackett Catholic Prep] brought the same result in the sixth inning.
Hoogewerf continued to deal and returned to the mound for the seventh inning. The book would close on his day with seven innings of work and only one hit allowed. He totaled nine strikeouts without a walk and sat the final eight hitters he faced down.
The Thunder would come up empty in the bottom of the seventh as well and send it to extra innings with a combined three hits. Freshman Noah Brettin [Rolling Prairie, Ind. / New Prairie] entered out of the bullpen and struck out two in a scoreless inning.
The offense would come through to get Brettin the victory in the bottom of the frame. Easton Rhodes [Auburn, Ind. / DeKalb] singled with two outs in the inning and it was Dalton Nikirk [Bedford, Ind. / Bedford North Lawrence] who played hero with a walk-off single combined with an error by the centerfielder to win 1-0.
Nikirk was the only batter in the game with multiple hits, a 2-for-4 effort.
GAME TWO RECAP:
The first inning would look much like the previous eight innings of baseball, with each team failing to score. Unfortunately, that would be the only thing that went right for the Thunder in game two.
In the top of the second, Adam Stefanelli [Westerville, Ohio / Westerville North] singled with one out, stole a base and advanced to third on a putout, but was stranded 90 feet from home. That would end up being the only Trine hit of the game as the John Carroll pitching staff settled in.
The Blue Streaks plated two in the second and sent 12 to the dish in an eight-run third inning to blow the game open. The Thunder were able to stop the bleeding with a defensive relay started by Tyler Robinson [Schaumburg, Ill. / Schaumburg] in left field. One more crossed the plate in the fourth for John Carroll to run the score up to 11-0.
Dominic Skinner [Brownsburg, Ind. / Brownsburg] twirled a scoreless frame after working around a pair of base on balls in the fifth.
John Carroll tacked on four more runs in the sixth before sitting down the final three Trine hitters in the game. The loss was saddled to Bryce Bloode [New Carlisle, Ind. / New Prairie] after nine runs fell on his ledger.
The Thunder look to redeem themselves on Monday, March 7 with a single game against Dominican University. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 pm.