Baseball team splits home doubleheader with Albion

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College baseball team split a home doubleheader with Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Albion College this afternoon at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet. Behind a complete game pitching performance by sophomore Jay Magro (Bridgman), the Comets won the first game, 1-0, in 10 innings. The Britons bounced back to win the nightcap, 3-1.

The first game was a scoreless pitcher's duel between Magro and Albion's Mike Schypinski for the first nine and half innings. Olivet broke through with an unearned run in the bottom half of the 10th inning. Freshman Chase Carter (Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Catholic) struck out but reached base when the catcher dropped the third strike and then the ball into the dirt at first base. Sophomore Justin Pitt (Imlay City) came into the game as a pinch runner.

Junior Austin Clark (Ossineke/Alpena) reached on an infield single to move Pitt into scoring position. Freshman Jonny Zawacki (Alpena) put down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move each of the runners up 90 feet. Sophomore Randy Young (Wixom/Walled Lake Western) was walked intentionally to load the bases. Freshman Joel Peters (Auburn Hills/Avondale) lined the first pitch he saw into right field for a sacrifice fly, with Pitt sliding in just under the tag at the plate.

Offensively, the Comets were held to just three base hits. Magro threw 124 pitches, scattering eight hits and striking out four batters. The 10 innings thrown by Magro is a single-game school record for an Olivet pitcher.

In the nightcap, the Comets dented the scoreboard with a run in the second inning. Young led off the inning with an infield single and hustled to third on a single by Carter. Junior Tyler Olinske (Negaunee) then ripped a double in the left-center gap to score Young.

The Britons scored unearned runs in the third and fifth innings to take a 2-1 lead. Albion added an insurance run in the sixth. Olivet brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the home half of the sixth, but an out ended their scoring chances.

The Comets finished the game with six hits, including two each for Olinske and senior Ben Kosmalski (Canton/Plymouth). On the mound, junior Sean Alexander (Fenton) was the hard luck loser, giving up just the one earned run on six hits. He struck out five.

The teams will complete the four-game MIAA series Saturday with a doubleheader at Albion's Frank Joranko Field, starting at 1 p.m.