AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Trine University baseball team won their fourth consecutive game when they defeated St. John Fisher University 16-11. The Thunder (5-2) trailed the Cardinals (2-6) 7-0 in the second inning and stormed back to win with 12 runs in innings two through five.
The starting pitcher Caden Heminger was only able to throw one inning of work after St. John Fisher batted around to plate six runs in the first. A leadoff double in the second inning resulted in another run to score for the Cardinals to claim a 7-0 advantage.
Trine responded with four runs in the bottom of the second to cut into the deficit. Luke Burford delivered a two-run single with the bases loaded and a wild pitch allowed Easton Rhodes to score later in the frame. A failed pickoff brought in Burford as the scoreboard now read 7-4.
Rylan McBride benefited from a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out to get out of the third inning unscathed as the tandem of Burford and Rhodes had an RBI apiece in the bottom half of the inning to make it a one-run game at 7-6.
A platoon of walks as well as an error plated two for the Cardinals, but Trine was able to get back to even thanks to a two-RBI triple by Joel Walton and a run-scoring hit by Nathan Gilmet. Southpaw Reid Courtwright made his first collegiate appearance in the game and was able to strikeout two with runners in scoring position to keep the game tied at nine. The runs continued to pour in the for the Thunder with a bases loaded walk from Dalton Nikirk and a two-run single by Walton to go up 12-9.
The two teams traded runs in the sixth and seventh innings with the Thunder receiving an RBI single by Daniel Rumberger to make the score 13-10. After a single run by St. John Fisher in the top of the eighth, Trine added three more in the bottom half of the inning to extend the lead. Burford drove in a run with a double into the right center field gap and Cole Schmidthuber singled through the right side of the infield to bring in two more.
The 16-11 final score was locked down by Cole Decker, who got the final four outs of the game for the save (1). Courtwright went a game-high 3.1 innings for the win (1-0) and struck out five of the nine hitters for the Thunder pitching staff on the night. At the plate, six hitters had multi-hit games, led by Rhodes and Burford with three each. Burford and Walton each drove in four runs for the squad.
On Friday, March 8, Trine faces Waynesburg University in a doubleheader beginning at 9:45 a.m.
