Baseball team drops series opener against Hope, 10-2

The Olivet College baseball team dropped the opening game of a weekend Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) series against Hope College, 10-2, this afternoon at Buys Athletic Field in Holland.

The teams will conclude the series on Saturday afternoon with two seven-inning games, beginning at 1 p.m. The Fighting Comets (16-20, 8-8 MIAA) must sweep the Flying Dutchmen (21-17, 9-7 MIAA) to gain sole possession of third-place in the final league standings.

Today, Hope tallied a single run in the second inning and four runs in the third inning. Olivet broke through in the fourth inning when freshman Chris Shelhart (Rolling Meadows, Ill./St. Viator) hit a double to plate senior Ricky Strain (Livonia Churchill High School), who walked to start the inning.

The Dutch extended their lead to 10-1 run with four runs in the sixth and one run in the seventh. The Comets scored a run in the eighth inning, but it was not enough as they stranded six runners on the bases.

At the plate, Olivet was limited to five base hits, including two doubles for Strain. Shelhart, Joe Richards (Galesburg Augusta High School) and Chris Stambek (Decatur High School) had a hit apiece.

Senior D.J. Celetti (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario/Notre Dame) started the game on the mound and was tagged with the loss. In five innings, he allowed eight hits and seven runs (five earned) while striking out two. In relief, freshman Brad Dragicevich (Kalamazoo Central High School) tossed two and two-thirds innings, giving up five hits and three runs. Freshman Zach Langford (Marshall High School) recorded the final out of the eighth inning.