ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University baseball team wrapped up their 2022 season with Senior Day on Jannen Field and a doubleheader versus Hope College. The Thunder celebrated graduating players Bryce Bloode [New Carlisle, Ind. / New Prairie], Gary DeMartino [Beavercreek, Ohio / Owens C.C.], Tyler Drope [Marysville, Ohio / Marysville], Quin Fauquher [Muncie, Ind. / Yorktown], Austin Nuessgen [Beavercreek, Ohio / Beavercreek] and Brenden Warner [Richland, Mich. / Hackett Catholic Prep].
The Thunder dropped game one by a score of 12-3 and were defeated by the Flying Dutch in the final game of the series 11-2. Trine will end their season at 14-23 overall and 9-12 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) action. Hope on the other side has clinched the number one seed in the MIAA Tournament and regular season title.
Both starters threw up zeros in the first inning of the opening game, but the Flying Dutch put together three runs in the second. Cory Erbskorn [Archbold, Ohio / Archbold] got one back with a solo homerun to right center. Hope returned the favor in the next inning with a solo shot of their own to go up 4-1.
The Flying Dutch added on a run of insurance in the fifth, but in the seventh, a two-out wild pitch allowed Avery Fulford [Conifer, Colo. / Conifer] to score. The teams traded runs once more in the eighth as Robert Kortas [New Baltimore, Mich. / Anchor Bay] singled through the left side to plate Easton Rhodes [Auburn, Ind. / DeKalb].
A six-spot in the ninth inning would put the game out of reach for Hope at 12-3. Despite only scoring three runs, the Thunder accumulated 15 hits. Warner, Erbskorn and Kortas had three each. Cam Nagel [Noblesville, Ind. / Noblesville] was hit with the loss (3-2) after tossing 3.2 innings with one K.
The series finale saw Trine get on the scoreboard first with four straight base hits with two away in the third inning. Fulford and Warner put traffic on the bases and Dalton Nikirk [Bedford, Ind. / Bedford North Lawrence] scored a run with a double down the right field line. Erbskorn hit a single through the left side of the infield that made it 2-0, but a second baserunner was cut down at the dish for the final out of the inning.
A crooked number in the fifth would put this one out of reach. The Flying Dutch sent 12 to the plate in an eight-run inning to take a 9-2 advantage. The bats would go quiet for the remainder of the game with reserves getting time in the final game of the season, however some seniors got their final moments to share with their teammates on the diamond in the ninth at an 11-2 deficit.
Fauquher wrapped up his career with a single the other way and Drope drew a two-out walk as both were removed to a standing ovation.
Nine different players recorded hits in the game, including Fauquher who had two hits and walked once as the only man to reach base three times. On the bump, Kade Keele [Fort Wayne, Ind. / New Haven] went 4.1 innings and struck out three in a losing effort (2-5).