GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Trine University baseball team lost the series-clinching game to Calvin University on Monday afternoon by a score of 15-5 in eight innings. This was a make-up game after Friday's contest was postponed due to weather.
The Thunder fall to sixth in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) standings with the loss at 12-19 overall and 7-8 in league play. The Knights propel to fourth at 14-13 and 7-7 in conference action.
Trine got on the board first with two runs in the top of the second inning. Matt Weis [Trenton, Ill. / Triad] drew a walk, stole second and scored via a single by Cory Erbskorn [Archbold, Ohio / Archbold]. The next batter Avery Fulford [Conifer, Colo. / Conifer] drove him in with a double to center field.
Starting pitcher Cam Nagel [Noblesville, Ind. / Noblesville] held Calvin scoreless over the first three innings, but in the fourth, the Knights broke through for three runs. The lefty was able to limit damage after the first four batters reached in the frame.
Another crooked number in the fifth inning for Calvin would turn the tide in the game. The Knights plated four in the fifth and added two more in the sixth to take a commanding 9-2 advantage.
Two runs on two hits and three walks in the seventh allowed the Thunder to inch closer at 9-4. Adam Stefanelli [Westerville, Ohio / Westerville North] drove in one run with a single the other way and Dalton Nikirk [Bedford, Ind. / Bedford North Lawrence] displayed patience at the dish to draw a bases loaded walk.
Calvin answered that with three runs of their own in the bottom of the seventh to go up 12-4. A Matthew Martin [Eureka, Ill. / Eureka] sacrifice fly put one more run on the board for the visitors, but the offense of the Knights was just too much as they ended the game by run-rule with three runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Erbskorn had three of the team's nine hits with one RBI and two runs scored. Brenden Warner [Richland, Mich. / Hackett Catholic Prep] had multiple hits as well in a 2-for-3 day with a walk. On the mound, Nagel (2-1) suffered the loss after four innings of work with five hits, two earned runs and two strikeouts.
The non-conference portion of the schedule wraps up for Trine on Wednesday, April 27 when the team faces Earlham College on the road. First pitch is scheduled for 5 pm.