LAKE MYRTLE, Fla. – The Trine University baseball team was defeated 11-4 in Florida this afternoon to Grove City College. The Thunder got ahead early but were unable to maintain the lead in the late innings. Trine is now 4-3 overall while Grove City advances to 6-3 on the season.
Starting pitcher Kade Keele twirled a 1-2-3 first and he got some run support in the bottom half. Adam Stefanelli reached on an error to open the game and Matthew Martin brought him home with a triple. A groundout by Dalton Nikirk provided a second run for the team.
A triple for the Wolverines in the top of the second plated a run with two outs, but the Thunder added on two more to go up 4-1 through two innings. A double off the bat of Daniel Rumberger scored one and Matt Weis scored later in the inning on a wild pitch.
Grove City tacked on an additional run in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings as well to tie the ballgame up at four apiece. A scoreless sixth would be the final frame for Keele on the mound.
The Wolverines went up 7-4 and forced Trine to utilize three relief pitchers to get out of the jam. Drew Basso induced a bases loaded flyball to centerfield to get out of the seventh. Basso would get out of the eighth with a key double play as well.
Shay Ohtonen took the hill in the ninth inning, but the staff was unable to prevent four more runs from scoring for Grove City to go ahead 11-4.
The team had 10 hits, with Nikirk, Robert Kortas, Easton Rhodes and Rumberger tallying two hits each. Weis had one hit and one walk in three total plate appearances. Keele threw 6.0 innings with eight hits, four runs and three strikeouts. Joseph Closson (0-1) received the loss after entering the game to start the seventh.
The Thunder are back in action on Wednesday, March 8 against Dominican University at 1:45 p.m.