Baseball team loses pair of one-run games at Kalamazoo, 3-2 and 4-3

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Olivet College baseball team lost a pair of one-run games to Kalamazoo College in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) doubleheader today at Woodworth Field in Kalamazoo. The Hornets won the first game, 3-2, and rallied to win the nightcap, 4-3, in eight innings.

In the opener, Kalamazoo took advantage of an Olivet error in the first inning to score two unearned runs. The Comets cut their deficit in half with a run in the fourth inning on three straight singles with the last one by junior catcher Austin Clark (Ossineke/Alpena) driving in senior Braydon LaFramboise (Flushing/Mt. Morris). The Hornets got the run back in their half of the fourth.

Olivet answered with a run in the fifth inning. LaFramboise singled to lead off the inning, stole second and went to third on a single by sophomore Randy Young (Wixom/Walled Lake Western). A groundout off the bat of senior Beau Felix (Hartland) scored LaFramboise. The Comets had the tying run thrown out at the plate in the sixth and left two runners stranded in the seventh.

At the plate, Olivet out-hit Kalamazoo, 11-7. Clark and sophomore Justin Pitt (Imlay City) each went 2-for-3, while senior Ben Kosmalski (Canton/Plymouth) also had two hits. Sophomore Jay Magro (Bridgman) was the losing pitcher, as he threw six innings and gave up three runs, while walking one and striking out one.

In the nightcap, the Comets took a 3-0 lead in the second inning. With the bases loaded, Kosmalski hit a double to the right-center field gap to clear them. The Hornets scored two runs in the second and one more run in the third to tie the game at 3-3. After Olivet had a runner stranded at second in the top half of the eighth, Kalamazoo pushed across the winning run in its half of the inning.

Offensively, five different Comets each recorded a base hit. On the mound, junior Sean Alexander (Fenton) suffered the loss. He gave up the four runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

The four-game series against the Hornets wraps-up with a doubleheader in Olivet on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m.