ADA, Ohio-- After dropping game one, the Trine baseball team rallied back to take game two and earn the split in a non-conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Ohio Northern.
A five-run second and 10 strikeouts from the pitching staff led the Polar Bears to a 6-3 victory in game one. The Thunder flipped the script in game two as Trine scored seven runs in the sixth, pounded out 10 hits overall and took advantage of seven ONU errors to earn the victory. Drew Palmer (Hartford, Wis. / Hartford Union) totaled five hits, three of which went for extra bases, and drove in three runs to lead the Thunder. ONUs Andy Lubonovic notched four hits and four RBIs. Trine is now 4-6 overall. ONU is now 8-5 on the season.
Game One: Ohio Northern 6, Trine 3
Five runs in the second and the combined efforts of three pitchers led the Polar Bears to the game one victory.
A RBI-double by Palmer got the scoring started as the Thunder drew first blood in the top of the first. ONU would respond with its big second-inning. The Polar Bears loaded the bases with two outs and got a two-run double by Dan Barna to extend the inning. Lubonovic followed with a three-run homer to make the score 5-1.
Lubonovic added another RBI in the bottom of the fourth with a bunt single to score an unearned run.
Trine later added runs on a fielder's choice RBI-groundout by Palmer in the fifth and a sac fly by Zach Seder (Saginaw, Mich. / Valley Lutheran) in the sixth.
Nick Eltzroth struck out seven over five innings of work. He did allowed an earned run on five hits and did not walk a batter. T.J. Storer earned the save with three innings of one-hit work. Storer fanned three.
Palmer, Colton Conn (Cincinnati, Ohio / Indian Hill) and Kory Shackle (Butler, Ohio / Mount Vernon) each collected two hits for the Thunder in game one. Shackle extended his hitting streak to eight games in the doubleheader and is batting .630 during that span. Conn kept a 10-game streak of reaching base safely going, but saw that streak snapped in game two.
Andy Farrell (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio / St. Vincent St. Mary) worked four innings of one-hit relief for Trine.
Game Two: Trine 10, Ohio Northern 5
A seven-run sixth and some clutch relief work from the Thunder pitching staff allowed Trine to rally to earn the split.
A four-run Polar Bear fourth had the Thunder staring at a 5-2 deficit. Two of the runs ONU scored in the inning were unearned. The Polar Bears also scored runs on a fielder's choice and sac fly in the inning.
A couple errors and a passed ball cut the score to 5-3 in the top of the sixth. A bunt-single by Spencer Sutton (Chesterton, Ind. / Chesterton) brought in another run, before a fielder's choice tied the score.
The Thunder took advantage of some sloppy defense on the part of ONU, as the fourth and fifth errors of the inning gave Trine a 7-5 lead. A RBI-double by Zach Thorn (Portage, Ind. / Portage) and a RBI-single by J.J. LaBounty (Avon, Ind. / Covenant Christian) capped off the big inning to give Trine a 9-5 lead.
The Thunder later added an insurance run on a RBI-single by Bob Ross (Valparaiso, Ind. / Washington Township). Shackle and Palmer also knocked in runs in the early innings.
Shaun Seigneur (Grove City, Ohio / Central Crossing), Jacob Stauffer (Elkhart, Ind. / Concord) and Jake Weimer (Pittsboro, Ind. / Brownsburg) combined to toss five innings of shutout relief. Seigneur improved to 2-1 with three innings of two-hit work. He struck out one.
Palmer notched three hits in game two, while Thorn and Shackle each collected a pair of hits. Palmer has multiple hits in each of the last three games.
Trine opens MIAA play Friday, Mar. 25 at Calvin. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 2 p.m. MIAA conference doubleheaders will now feature one nine-inning and one seven-inning game this year, replacing last year's format of two seven-inning games.