FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Trine University baseball team was on the wrong end of an extra inning first game of a three-game set against Franklin College on Sunday afternoon. The Thunder lost 7-6 in 10 innings thanks to a walk-off sacrifice fly by the Grizzlies.
The teams entered play with dueling 6-5 records and with the win, Franklin moves to 7-5 overall while Trine is 6-6. The two will continue play on Monday afternoon with a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.
Both sides plated two runs in the first inning thanks to some sloppy play. The teams battled each other and freezing temperatures throughout the afternoon. Adam Stefanelli drove in Robert Kortas with a double after Kortas reached on an error and Dalton Nikirk made it 2-0 thanks to a two-out RBI single. The Grizzlies opened their scoring with two runs on one hit and two miscues from the defense.
Franklin was able to use their speed in the bottom of the third to take a 3-2 lead. A lead-off walk allowed the base runner to swipe second and be in position to score on a single to right. Trine countered with two more runs in the top of the fourth to reclaim the lead. Singles by Matt Weis and Daniel Rumberger with two outs led to a pitching change for the Grizzlies and a two-run double off the bat of Kortas. Kortas would add another run in his next at-bat with his second double of the afternoon.
The Thunder starting pitcher Josh Hoogewerf settled in and tossed zeros in both the fifth and sixth innings. After securing outs one and two in the bottom of the sixth, he was relieved by the southpaw Cole Decker. The final line for Hoogewerf read 5.2 innings pitched, four hits, three runs (one earned), four walks and nine strikeouts, which matches his season and career-high.
Hoogewerf exited the game with a 5-3 lead, but Franklin would tie the game in the bottom of the eighth. With the bases loaded and one out, the Grizzly hitter was able to beat out a would-be inning-ending double play and a heads up play on the basepaths scratched across the game-tying run.
Back and forth they went as Trine went up 6-5 in the top of the ninth. A pair of walks drawn by Matthew Martin and Stefanelli sent Cory Erbskorn to the plate with one down. Erbskorn hit a flyball to right field that allowed the runners to advance a base and on the putout attempt, an error resulted in the go-ahead run to cross the plate.
Down to their final out, Franklin was able to knock an RBI double to left to tie the game once more and go to extra innings. A leadoff double by the Grizzlies in the tenth put a runner in scoring position right away and a pair of walks loaded the bases to give the Thunder an opportunity to cut down the runner at the plate. The Franklin batter registered a flyball to center field that was deep enough to score the winning run, 7-6.
Noah Brettin received the loss on the mound (1-2) pitching the ninth and tenth innings. The bullpen of Decker and Brettin combined for four hits, four runs, six walks and three strikeouts (all by Decker). In the batter's box, the leadoff hitter Kortas had three hits and five total bases with three RBIs and one run scored. Weis was the only other batter with multiple hits, going 2-for-5. Stefanelli and Avery Fulford were each able to reach base twice with one hit and one walk.