ADRIAN, Mich. – The Trine University baseball team dropped their first Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) game of 2022 to Adrian College 9-5 in the first of three mid-week series games.
The loss moves the Thunder to 8-11 overall and 3-1 in conference action. The Bulldogs advance to 11-8 on the year and 3-1 in the MIAA.
Trine got out to the early lead in the top of the second when Jackson O'Keefe [Saline, Mich. / Saline / Owens CC] went yard for a three-run homerun to left center field. Gary DeMartino [Beavercreek, Ohio / Owens C.C.] and Easton Rhodes [Auburn, Ind. / DeKalb] reached base on singles before the towering blast by the junior designated hitter. The Thunder wouldn't stop there in the inning as an error helped Adam Stefanelli [Westerville, Ohio / Westerville North] to score to go up 4-0.
Two hit by pitches in the bottom of the third aided Adrian in plating one run to cut into the Trine lead, but starting pitcher Kade Keele [Fort Wayne, Ind. / New Haven] was able to escape the jam with limited damage. The Bulldogs would get it all back in the fifth inning with three runs on four hits to tie the game up at 4.
After Jeff Ballard [Munster, Ind. / Munster] took the mound for the Thunder in the fifth, Robert Kortas [New Baltimore, Mich. / Anchor Bay] came in with the potential go-ahead run standing on third in the sixth. The righty caught the Adrian hitter looking at strikes to keep the man stranded.
A Dalton Nikirk [Bedford, Ind. / Bedford North Lawrence] single up the middle to lead off the top of the seventh would spark a rally for Trine in their efforts to pick up the win. DeMartino followed it up with a one-out single to push Nikirk to third and a Rhodes groundout resulted in an RBI to give the Thunder a 5-4 advantage.
The lead would be short lived for the visiting team when the Bulldogs rallied for another three-spot in the bottom of the seventh to claim a 7-5 edge. Adrian added two more in the eighth to get to the 9-5 final.
DeMartino led the team at 3-for-4 on the day, his third three-hit game out of the eight he has appeared in this season. Stefanelli reached base three times as well with two hits and a walk. O'Keefe had a little league homerun with the help of an error in the Olivet series and his homerun this afternoon was the first of his Trine career. It is also his second game with three RBIs.
On the bump, Kortas was saddled with the loss (1-1). Keele went 4.1 innings and struck out four Adrian batters.
Trine returns home this weekend with a doubleheader versus Kalamazoo College to start the three-game weekend series. Game one begins at 1 pm on Jannen Field this Saturday, April 9.