SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – After dropping the opening game against Huntington University 3-1, the Spring Arbor University baseball team bounced back to take game two 5-1 in a Crossroads League doubleheader on Friday.

Huntington (12-21, 7-5 CL) plated single runs in the second and third innings to grab an early 2-0 lead. The Foresters looked to add to their lead in the top of the fifth putting runners on second and third base with only one out. However, Sam Memmelaar escaped the jam with the help of his defense to keep the deficit at two.

Spring Arbor got on the board in the home half of the fifth stringing together three straight hits before Jeremiah Johnson drove in Chris Triplett with a sacrifice fly. That was as close as the Cougars would get, though, as Huntington held on for the win.

Conner Lengerich and Nate Sitkiewicz picked up two hits apiece to lead the offense. Memmelaar pitched all seven innings surrendering three runs on 10 hits and recorded one strikeout.

The Foresters struck first again in game two, pushing a run across in the second inning, but the Cougars would answer. After back-to-back hits by Nick Harris and Triplett to lead off the third, Lengerich brought both runners home with a triple. Three batters later, Jonathan Newman would deliver a two-out single to score Lengerich and give SAU a 3-1 advantage.

Lengerich would come through again in the fourth inning with another RBI single, and Sitkiewicz plated Tyler Reed with an RBI single in the fifth.

After allowing the run in the second inning, Duncan Patterson settled in and did not allow another run the rest of the way. The freshman right-hander gave up just two hits over the final five frames on his way to his second win of the season.

Lengerich went 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBI and a run scored. Triplett also had a multi-hit game going 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Spring Arbor (12-15, 7-5 CL) will wrap up its series with Huntington on Saturday with the first game of the twinbill set for 1 p.m. Prior to the first pitch, the Cougars will recognize their four seniors for Senior Day.

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