Baseball: Olivet stopped by Kalamazoo, 17-7, in series finale

OLIVET, Mich. – The University of Olivet baseball team lost the rubber game, 17-7, of a three-game Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) series against Kalamazoo College today at the Cutler Athletic Complex.

• Final Score: Kalamazoo 17, Olivet 7
• Location: Cutler Athletic Complex; Olivet, Michigan
• Records: Olivet 9-26 overall, 3-15 MIAA; Kalamazoo 25-9 overall, 13-5 MIAA

• The Comets wasted no time in taking a 1-0 lead, as senior Matthew Fennell hit the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning over the fence in right field. Olivet added another run in the first inning.
• The Hornets loaded the bases in the top of the second inning. The Comets turned a double play to get out of the jam.
• In the third, Kalamazoo put two runners on base, but Olivet got out of the inning when sophomore Will Myrick made a diving catch in the left-center field for the third out.
• The Hornets dented the scoreboard for the first in the fourth inning on an RBI-single.
• In the fifth inning, Kalamazoo sent eight batters to the plate and scored four runs to take a 5-2 lead.
• The Comets plated a run in the home half of the fifth when sophomore Braden Abbott drove in freshman Austin Alflen.
• The Hornets stretched their lead to 17-3 after scoring one run in the sixth, two runs in the seventh, four runs in the eighth and five runs in the ninth inning.
• Olivet pushed across four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The final two runs were the result of senior Gabriel Kirck's two-run homer. The blast tied both the Comet career record for home runs as well as RBI. Kirck has hit 19 home runs and driven in 109 runs.

• For the game, Olivet recorded 10 hits.
• Fennell was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI.
• Abbott and Alflen also had a multi-hit game, with two hits apiece.
• Sophomore Nate Droste was the losing pitcher after yielding five runs on nine hits and four walks over the first five innings.

• The Comets face Trine (Ind.) University in their next series. The teams play a nine-inning game Friday, May 3, at the Cutler Athletic Complex, starting at 4 p.m. The series then shifts to Jannen Field in Angola, Indiana, on Sunday, May 5, for a doubleheader, beginning at 1 p.m.