Baseball: Olivet drops series finale to Albion, 16-4, in eight innings

OLIVET, Mich. – The University of Olivet baseball team faced Albion College in the rubber match of a three-game Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) series today at the Cutler Athletic Complex. The Britons walked off with a 16-4 win in eight innings to earn the series victory.

• Final Score: Albion 16, Olivet 4 (8)
• Location: Cutler Athletic Complex; Olivet, Michigan
• Records: Olivet 7-22 overall, 1-11 MIAA; Albion 13-16 overall, 5-7 MIAA

• Albion took a 6-0 lead after scoring five runs in the first inning and one more run in the second inning.
• In the bottom half of the second, the Comets used a hit batter and back-to-back singles to load the bases. Junior Jihari Watkins lined a single into shallow left field to score junior Mason Cook. Sophomore Owen Smith hit the ball sharply up the middle to plate junior Brendan Monroe.
• Olivet closed the gap to 6-4 with a pair of runs in the third. Senior Gabriel Kirck ripped a leadoff double to centerfield and came around to score on freshman Jack Friesen's double to nearly the same spot in the outfield. After the second out was recorded, Monroe hit an infield single. On the play, the shortstop kicked the ball away to allow Friesen to score.
• The Britons proceeded to score 12 unanswered runs – two in the fifth, three in the sixth, one in the seventh and four in the eighth – to end the game.

• Seven of the nine Olivet starters had at least one hit.
• Friesen, Monroe, and junior Blake Hawkins each recorded two hits.
• Sophomore Charlie Quilliam was responsible for the first six runs to be charged with the loss.
• Sophomores Braden Abbott and Tyson Carter threw in relief, allowing five runs apiece.

• Olivet now focuses on its series this weekend against Alma College. The teams start the series with a nine-inning game Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. After a day off, a doubleheader at 1 p.m. from the Cutler Athletic Complex on Sunday concludes the series.