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XENIA, Ohio—March 2 was the second weekend series against Wilmington College for The University of Olivet baseball team. The Comets fought until the end, but lost both games of the doubleheader, 9-4 in the first game and 11-7 in game two.
“We just need to take things one pitch at a time and not get ahead of ourselves by biting off more than we can chew, limiting our mistakes, and continuing to hit the ball well,” said junior Infielder, Braden Abbott.
In the first game, Wilmington started off the game well when First Baseman, sophomore, Max Gildea hit a single up the middle to put the Quakers on the board 1-0 in the bottom half of the first inning.
Olivet would keep them from scoring the next two innings, but in the fourth, catcher freshman Ethan Bunce hit a single up the middle to bring in a run to make it 2-0.
The Quakers would add two more in the fifth and five more in the sixth to make it 9-0. In the seventh and final inning, Olivet got on the board with a single from Designated Hitter, senior Blake Hawkins, who scored junior Mikey Kuzara and sophomore EJ Suggitt.
The Comets would add two more points before the inning's end but fell 9-4.
“We need to string hits together and take better team at-bats to grind out their starter and get to the pen quicker to help us with scoring early and overall help our pitchers pitch with a lead, “ said Kuzara.
The second game started well for the Comets when sophomore Jack Friesen scored on a wild pitch, but the Quakers would answer with three of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
The Comets scored again with a double down the left field line by senior Mason Cook, which cut the lead to 3-2. The bottom half of the inning would look the same as the first for the Quakers, putting up another three runs to take a 6-2 lead into the fourth.
In the seventh inning, the Comets put four more points on the board to tie the game 6-6.
The Comets then took the lead with the help of a home run by Hawkins to put the Comets up 7-6. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Quakers earned five points to make the game 11-7, which was the final.
“We need to find our confidence... We just have to go in with confidence and believe we can get the job done no matter the circumstances and work counts in our favor to help us win in the later innings to help our team” said Hawkins
Olivet now sits at 0-6 on the season and will not play until March 11 when they take on Rhode Island College in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The first home game for the Comets will be on March 28 against MIAA opponent Calvin.
Written by Brayden Craig