Baseball team loses to Aquinas, 11-9

The Olivet College baseball team rallied but ended up on the losing end of an 11-9 score to non-conference rival Aquinas College today at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet.

The Saints scored three unearned runs in the top half of the first inning. Olivet got one back run back in the second inning after senior Brad Sullens (Belleville) doubled and scored on a RBI-single by freshman Randy Young (Wixom/Walled Lake Western). Aquinas then sent 12 batters to the plate and scored six runs in the third inning to take a 9-1 lead.

The Comets scored once in the bottom half of the third and twice in the fifth to cut their deficit to five runs, 9-4. Olivet then made the score 9-7 with a three-run sixth inning. Senior Erik McCloud (Holly) capped the inning with a two-run home run deep over the fence in right field. The Saints added a run in the seventh to go back up three, 10-7. The Comets plated two runs in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run double by junior Ben Kosmalski (Canton/Plymouth), which trimmed Aquinas' lead to one run, 10-9. Aquinas added an insurance run in the ninth and got three quick outs in the bottom half of the ninth.

The top three batters in Olivet's lineup combined to record six of its 10 hits and score seven of the nine runs. Kosmalski led the way went three hits, two runs scored and four RBI. McCloud had two hits, two runs scored and two RBI. Junior Braydon LaFramboise (Flushing/Mt. Morris) crossed the plate three times. Sullens also had two hits, including a two-run single in the fifth. On the mound, sophomore Tyler Olinske (Negaunee) was the losing pitcher, as he allowed seven runs on six hits in two innings.

The Comets will now face Trine (Ind.) University in their final four-game Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association series of the 2010 season. The teams will play a doubleheader in Olivet Friday, starting at 2 p.m. The series will then shift to Trine's Jannen Field Sunday at 1 p.m.