SPRING ARBOR, MI Snow delayed the start of the Spring Arbor baseball team's series against Grace, but Monday afternoon showed the full breadth of Michigan weather, with sunny skies and 60 degree temperatures setting the perfect scene for a beautiful day of baseball at Hank Burbridge field. The Cougars began game one already in the lead, 1-0 in the bottom of the second, after the game was suspended on Friday, and Cougars would add to that lead quickly, scoring in every inning but two, and holding off a late Grace rally for the 7-6 win. In game two, Spring Arbor fell behind quick, as the Lancers scored two in the first and third innings to take a 4 run lead. However, the Cougars responded with one in the bottom of the third, and took the lead with a five-run fifth, one they would not relinquish, earning the sweep on the day with the 7-4 victory.  

 
SCORES:  

Spring Arbor 7, Grace 6 

Spring Arbor 7, Grace 4 
LOCATION:  

Hank Burbridge Field 
RECORDS:  

Spring Arbor 12-5, 5-1, Grace 3-10, 0-6 

 
 
 
GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS 

 

Kyler Hinken stayed on the mound for the start of the resumed game, and picked up where he left off on Friday, keeping the Lancers off the board until a fifth inning home run broke the shutout. The Cougar offense also continued their momentum from Friday, extending their 1-0 lead in the third inning courtesy of a 2-strike, 2-out 2 RBI single from Jake Zeeb to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead. Spring Arbor would extend that lead in the fourth to 4-0 on a Joey Tessmer RBI double. 

 

 

After Grace cut into the lead on the aforementioned home run, the Cougars responded with one of their own in the bottom of the fifth, as Landon Raczkowski went yard for the second time this season to push the Spring Arbor lead to 5-1. Both teams would go scoreless in the sixth, before a Connor Dee safety squeeze bunt single in the bottom of the seventh added another run to make it 6-1 in favor of the Cougars.  

 

Hinken returned to the mound for the bottom of the eighth, where the Lancers were finally able to get to him, using a hit by pitch, single, and 2 RBI double to trim their deficit to 6-3, and knock Hinken out of the game. Josh Murphy came on in relief for SAU, and immediately got them out of the jam, inducing a pop out and a groundout to end the frame. In the bottom half of the eighth, the Cougars started another rally, with Tessmer doubling to right, Aiden Brunin advancing him on a bunt single, and Raczkowski scoring Tessmer on a sac fly to left to add to the lead, 7-3.  

Grace would not go down without a fight however, and began to rally in the ninth, loading the bases on two walks and a single. They would score one run on a fielder's choice ground out, and then would pull within one, 7-6, on a bloop single to left that scored two. However, new pitcher Colin Snyder settled in, as Landon Raczkowski made a tremendous diving play in right on a weak fly ball for out number two, and Snyder struck out the final hitter to seal the nail-biting win, 7-6.  

 

 

Kyler Hinken: Win, 7.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K 

Colin Snyder: Save, 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K 

Joey Tessmer: 2 for 4, 2 2B, R, RBI, BB 

Landon Raczkowski: 1 for 2, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, HBP, Sac Fly 

Aiden Brunin: 3 for 5, 2 R, SB 

Jake Zeeb: 2 for 4, 2 RBI, BB 

Conner Barkel: 2 for 4, R, SB 

 

 
GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS 

Game two began with the Grace offense picking up where they left off in game one, using two singles and a hit by pitch to load the bases, and then scoring two on another single, all with two outs, to take a 2-0 lead. The Cougars would go scoreless in the bottom of the first, and Grace entered the second inning with an early lead.  

Both teams would be shutout in the second inning, before the Grace offense came to life again in the top of the third, using a moonshot two-run home run to extend their lead to 4-0. After two quick outs in the bottom of the frame, Tessmer put Spring Arbor on the board with a homer of his own to right center, trimming the deficit to 3, 4-1.  

After a scoreless 4th inning for both teams, and another zero in the top of the fifth for Grace, the dormant Cougar offense finally came to life in the bottom of the fifth. Spring Arbor would load the bases on two errors and a walk and open the scoring in the inning on a Tessmer RBI single to center. Conner Barkel would then score on a wild pitch to bring the Cougars to within one, and two batters later, Raczkowski would give them the lead, sending a high chopper over the third baseman's head into left field, and scoring two runs to make it 5-4. Jake Zeeb would then single down the line to bring in Raczkowski to make it 6-4 and bookend the five-run inning for Spring Arbor. 

 

In the top of the sixth, John Hojnowski, the starter for SAU would get the first out, and then reliever Jack Will struck out the next two hitters to hold the Lancers scoreless once again. In the bottom of the frame, the Cougars would add an insurance run on a Braydon Gregory pinch-hit home run to right, to extend their lead to 7-4 with a chance to win the game. Will would stay on the mound to close out the game, and that he did, using a pop out, strikeout, and ground out to seal the victory and the doubleheader sweep.  
 

John Hojnowski: Win, 5.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K's.  

Jack Will: Save, 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's 

Joey Tessmer: 2 for 4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI 

Jake Zeeb:  2 for 3, 2B, RBI 

Landon Raczkowski: 1 for 3, 2 RBI, R 

Braydon Gregory: 1 for 1, HR, RBI, R 

Aiden Brunin: 1 for 2, 2 BB 

 
UP NEXT 
Spring Arbor will continue Crossroads League action with a big series against current league leader Taylor, beginning with a doubleheader on Friday, March 14th. First pitch is set for 3:00 PM.