ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University baseball team won a slobberknocker on Tuesday afternoon 22-14 over rival Adrian College in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) action.
The Thunder were red hot at the dish and broke or tied multiple school records. It is the first time in NCAA DIII history that Trine won the regular season series against the Bulldogs. As a team, the Thunder tied records for most at-bats (50) and total bases (40). It was also the second-most runs scored and RBIs with 22 each.
Individually at the plate, Avery Fulford [Conifer, Colo. / Conifer] was 5-for-6 with two homeruns, nine RBIs and 12 total bases. Fulford broke the school record with his RBI and total base numbers while tying the mark with five hits and two homeruns. Additionally, leadoff man Adam Stefanelli [Westerville, Ohio / Westerville North] was 4-for-7, breaking the record for most at-bats in a single game.
The win Trine 11-16 overall and 6-6 in league play. Adrian falls to 13-11 on the season and 5-3 in the conference.
A walk and double into the left center field gap gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead, but the Thunder responded with three in the bottom half of the inning. Trine would get runs across in all eight of the innings they came to the plate. Dalton Nikirk [Bedford, Ind. / Bedford North Lawrence] knocked a bases loaded single into right field and Gary DeMartino [Beavercreek, Ohio / Owens C.C.] brought in Brenden Warner [Richland, Mich. / Hackett Catholic Prep] on a fielder's choice next at bat. Two hitters later, Fulford would single to third base to score Easton Rhodes [Auburn, Ind. / DeKalb].
Adrian retook the lead with four runs on four hits and a throwing error in the second, and the Thunder got one back with a Nikirk RBI single to make it 5-4 Bulldogs after two. The third frame saw Adrian score one unearned run while three extra base hits for Trine resulted in two runs and tied the game up at six.
The roles would be reverse in the fourth as the Bulldogs brought in two and Thunder one. A Fulford single to left field scored Nikirk, but Cory Erbskorn [Archbold, Ohio / Archbold] was cut down at home to keep it at 8-7.
Josh Hoogewerf [Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point] appeared from the bullpen to toss the first zero of the day in the top of the fifth and Trine made it count by knotting the game back up in the bottom. Rhodes scored Matt Weis [Trenton, Ill. / Triad] with a two-out single to put the scoreboard at 8-8.
A crooked number flashed in the sixth when Adrian sent 11 to the plate, with five baserunners scoring on five hits. The damage could have been worse, but Jeff Ballard [Munster, Ind. / Munster] got out of a bases loaded jam to keep the Thunder in striking range. DeMartino started the bottom of the sixth with a double the other way and Fulford found the jet stream out in left field for a two-run homerun to make it 13-10.
Noah Brettin [Rolling Prairie, Ind. / New Prairie] twirled a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh to shut down the potent Bulldog offense. The floodgates opened in the bottom half when Trine exploded for 11 runs. Nikirk hit an RBI single early in the inning and the heavy damage was done by Fulford when he launched a rocket into left for a grand slam to go up 15-13. Weis brought home the 16th run of the game with a single up the middle and Nikirk cleared the bases when he came up once again with a two-bagger to left. DeMartino would find the same power alley when he blasted a two-run homerun to give the team three on the day.
The 21-13 lead would be added on to in the bottom of the eighth with a Weis RBI single that plated Matthew Martin [Eureka, Ill. / Eureka]. Adrian would score on the final play of the game to get to the 22-14 final.
Brettin got the win (2-1) with three innings on four hits and one run with three strikeouts. On the offensive end, the Thunder saw seven players with multiple hits, including Fulford with five, and Nikirk and Stefanelli with four apiece. Along with Fulford's nine RBIs, Nikirk drove in six on the afternoon. All nine in the Thunder starting lineup had two or three runs scored.
Trine opens a three-game slate with Calvin University on the road this Friday, April 22 at 4 pm.
