SPRING IS A COMETH - ALMA BASEBALL BEGINS 2009 SEASON
With the often used phrase of hope springs eternal in the air, the Alma Baseball team opened up the 2009 campaign on Friday afternoon, with a contest against Bates College (Maine) at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The Scots dropped a tough 6-5 decision, giving up two runs in the bottom of the ninth, to start at 0-1 on the season.
Bates, the home team in the neutral site game, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, but Alma made it 3-1 in the following frame. The Scots grabbed a lead of 4-3 by scoring two runs in the fifth inning and one in the sixth, before the Bobcats tied it at 4-4 by tallying one run in the bottom of the eighth.
After Alma jumped back ahead 5-4 in the top of the ninth, the Scots saw their lead evaporate into a one-run loss as Bates scored two in the bottom of the ninth for the dramatic come-from-behind victory. Bates’ two scores in the game-winning half inning came on four walks and a hit batsman that allowed them to score the two runs for the win.
Sr. Joe Thiry (Grand Rapids, MI/Grand Rapids Christian) was the starting pitcher for the Scots and went 6 innings, giving up five hits, three runs and a walk. Sr. John Fillmore (Midland, MI/Midland) threw one inning, while So. Jay Sackett (Birmingham, MI/Groves) took the loss with four walks and three runs allowed in 1 2/3 innings pitched. So. Sam Shipman (Traverse City, MI/T.C. West) pitched to one batter, walking him to close out the game.
So. Nick Townsend (St. Clair Shores, MI/ DeLaSalle) went three for four hitting for the Scots, scoring two runs, hitting two doubles and knocking in one run. For the game, Alma had five runs, seven hits, three errors and five stolen bases, while Bates had six runs, six hits and two errors.
Alma continues their spring break play tomorrow, when they take on Richard Stockton College at 1:00 p.m.
Posted: Fri, February 20th, 2009 at 9:28PM
