KOKOMO, Ind. – The Trine University baseball team concluded their three-game set with Anderson University on Sunday afternoon with an 7-4 victory to complete the opening weekend sweep. The Thunder begin the 2023 campaign with a 3-0 record while the Ravens fall to 0-3.
For the second time this season, Trine put up a crooked number in the ninth inning to secure the victory. With the score tied at five, the Thunder tallied three runs in the final inning. Two hits, an error and three walks got the job done. In total, 10 of Trine's 23 runs were scored in the ninth inning.
Back in the first inning, Trine tried to score from second base on a single to left, but senior Avery Fulford was cut down at the plate after doubling earlier in the frame. The Thunder wasted no more time in scoring after plating three in the second. Consecutive fielding errors allowed a pair of runs to score and Fulford drove in classmate Tyler Robinson with a single to center field to make it 3-0.
Five hits, including two on the infield, got Anderson back within one at 3-2. Junior pitcher Josh Hoogewerf forced a flyout to left field with two on to escape the jam with the lead intact. A wild pitch and an error by the opposing catcher made it 4-2 in the top of the third.
The pitching staff for both teams settled in during the middle portion of the game. Hoogewerf retired six of the final seven batters he faced and junior Michael Brucker went 1-2-3 in the fifth and sixth innings once entering from the bullpen. The Ravens fought down the stretch and scratched across a run in both the seventh and eighth innings to tie the game up at four going into the ninth.
Senior Matt Weis hit a one-out single up the gut and pinch hitter junior Jack Kletzly roped a double to center. Sophomore Matthew Martin was intentionally walked to load the bases and set up the go-ahead run for sophomore Joel Walton. Walton drew a walk to score the first run of the inning and two more reached home via a fielding error and another walk with nowhere to go by junior Dalton Nikirk.
Sophomore Noah Brettin, who entered the game the inning before, faced the game's tying run in the ninth, but picked up the win on the mound with a two-out lineout to first base (1-0). He threw a scoreless 1.2 innings.
Fulford was the leader in the batter's box after going 5-for-6 with a double and two RBIs. He had five hits against Adrian College last season and now puts his name on the list a second time for most hits in a game in program history. Nikirk was 3-for-4 with a walk, RBI and run scored, while Weis had multiple hits at 2-for-5. Martin reached three times in the game, once by base hit and twice by walk.
The team's spring break trip is next on the schedule. First up is a doubleheader versus John Carroll University on Sunday, March 5.