COLLEGE BASEBALL: Oakland slugs 15 hits in 11-6 win over IPFW
ROCHESTER HILLS — Aaron Cieslak hit his team-leading sixth home run of the season, going 3-for-5 with three runs batted in, while Tim Ryan finished 3-for-5, with four runs scored and a two-run home run, to lead Oakland to an 11-6 win Sunday over visiting IPFW.
The Golden Grizzlies (10-24, 5-3) won the final three games of the series at the OU Baseball Field.
“We’ve been getting good at-bats all series long,” said Oakland coach John Musachio. “We kept pressuring them the entire game and it seemed like every inning we were in a position to score runs. We are happy to come out with a series win.”
Right-handed pitcher Brady Adamek (1-4) made the start on the hill for the Golden Grizzlies, tossing 5.0 innings, allowing six hits, four earned runs, struck out three and walked six. Right-hander Kevin Korkate threw 3.0 innings, giving up three hits, two earned runs and struck out three, and right-handed pitcher Jake Paulson pitched a perfect ninth, striking out 2 of 3 batters faced.
Trent Drumheller had a tremendous day at the plate, posting a 3-for-4 performance, scoring two runs and walked once. Jake Morton went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs, while Nolan Jacoby drove in a run by going 2-for-5.
IPFW’s Kyle Sorenson (1-1) took the loss for the Mastodons, throwing the first 3.0 innings, surrendering six hits, six earned runs and walked six. Clay Hathaway went 3-for-5, with two runs scored and one RBI, while Malcolm White had four walks and went 1-for-1 with two RBIs for the ‘Dons.
After IPFW scored two runs in the first inning, the Grizzlies responded with a three-run blast off the bat of Cieslak in the bottom half of the inning as OU led 3-2 after one inning of play.
Back-to-Back walks in the third inning with the bases loaded led to a pair of runs for Oakland in the third inning as the lead extended to 5-2. The Grizzlies tacked on one more in the fourth and Morton drove in two runs with a two-out double in the fifth inning as the lead grew to 8-3.
The Mastodons would climb back in to the game with two runs in the sixth inning and Hathaway singled with two outs to plate another run in the seventh inning as IPFW was back within striking distance, trailing 8-6. The Golden Grizzlies would respond with two runs in the bottom half of the seventh, highlighted by a two-run home run by Ryan as the lead went back to four, 10-6.
The Golden Grizzlies would score on a wild pitch in the eighth inning after back-to-back singles to go on for a five-run win. OU picks up the series win and is now 5-3 in league play, atop The Summit League standings. The Grizzlies are riding a season-high three-game winning streak and are 5-1 at home this season.
OU scored 11 runs, on 15 hits and committed one error, while IPFW tallied six runs, nine hits and two errors.
Oakland will take on in-state foe Central Michigan on Tuesday in Mount Pleasant. Game time is set for 3:05 p.m. at Theunissen Stadium.
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