FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Trine University baseball tam finished their three-game series with Franklin College on Sunday, but were defeated by a score of 18-3. The loss drops the Thunder to 7-6 overall while the Grizzlies move to 9-4.
After a scoreless first inning, the second is where Trine ran into trouble. Franklin plated ten runs in the inning to take a commanding lead. The Grizzlies would add four in the third, as well as runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to go up 18-0.
Finally in the seventh, the Thunder were able to scratch across some runs. Tyler Beyke and Brayden Basey led off the inning with singles and an error put them in position for a sacrifice fly by Dalton Nikirk. Cole Schmidthuber and Brody Bond had two-out hits, with Bond's scoring a run for the team. A wild pitch allowed a third run to come across in the top of the eighth, but it was not enough to overcome a wide margin in the 18-3 loss.
Daniel Rumberger reached base three times in the game with a single and two walks. Beyke was 2-for-2 with a walk as well in his three plate appearances. Bond recorded a pair of hits at the plate. On the mound, Cam Nagel received the loss (2-1) with a team-high three strikeouts. Rylan McBride and Noah Brettin had scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
A four-game series against Wright State University-Lake begins on Saturday, March 23. Th doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. will be the home opener for the Thunder at Jannen Field.