SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – After months of planning, construction, and renovation to historic Hank Burbridge Field, the Spring Arbor University baseball team was finally able to get on its home turf. With a sizable crowd in attendance, the Cougars took on Huntington University for the second leg of their four-game series, coming off a highly emotional split the day before in Indiana.
The Cougars would look to carry that momentum and make a statement early in Crossroads League play, but unfortunately, that would not come to fruition, as SAU fell to the Foresters 14-0 before dropping game two 4-3 in extra innings.
Despite an early 2-0 lead for the Foresters in game two,
John Hojnowski was stellar once again, going six innings and holding the Foresters to no runs for four straight innings after the two-run second. A leadoff triple in the seventh that scored after Hojnowski was pulled was his only other blemish.
After Huntington grabbed the early lead in the second frame, Spring Arbor was able to respond in its half of the third as
Ryan Gonzalez started the rally with a single, followed by a
Seth Clothier sacrifice bunt and
Connor Dee reaching on an error, putting runners on the corners with one out. A groundout put the Cougar rally in jeopardy, but after
Bryce Richey got hit by a pitch,
Aiden Brunin came through in the clutch, with a scorching double to right center, scoring Dee and Gonzalez to tie the game at 2-2.
That is where the game would stay until the fifth, where a Dee double off the center field wall got things started. Richey's deep fly ball to right would advance Dee to third, where he would later score on a wild pitch, giving Spring Arbor the lead.
The Cougars held the lead until the seventh, where the aforementioned leadoff triple would tie the game for the Foresters. The visitors shut down the Cougars in the bottom of the seventh and then scratched a run across in the first half of the extra eighth frame before playing shutdown once again, stranding the tying run on second with a line out double play.
DOUBLEHEADER HIGHLIGHTS
- John Hojnowski, last week's Crossroads League Pitcher of the Week, had another great start on the bump, with his final line being 6 IP, 3 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts.
- Aiden Brunin had an impact day at the dish, collecting two hits, two RBIs and a walk.
- Connor Dee made the most out of his first career start, going 1-for-3 with a double and two runs scored out of the DH spot.
UP NEXT
Next up for the Cougars is the Crossroads League preseason favorite, Taylor University, who will travel to Spring Arbor for a four-game set, with two games on Thursday and two on Friday, both starting at 1p.m. The Cougars will look to grab some big time wins as they jockey for early season position in the league standings.
