SPRING ARBOR, MI – After two hard-fought losses on Friday, the Spring Arbor baseball team came back on Saturday for Senior Day, looking to split the set with Saint Francis, as well as put an exclamation point on a tremendous season at Hank Burbridge Field. Game one was a low-scoring, back and forth battle, as Saint Francis took the lead early but Spring Arbor battled back and claimed it in the seventh. Saint Francis would tie the score in the top of the ninth, but the Cougars would respond in the bottom half, as Connor Dee blasted a walk-off home run to center to seal the 3-2 victory. Game two was once again a roller-coaster affair, with Spring Arbor claiming an early lead 3-0 lead after three innings, but Saint Francis storming back to take a 4-3 lead after five. Spring Arbor stayed in the fight however and posted a four-run bottom of the sixth to take a three-run advantage, and despite a Saint Francis rally in the top of the seventh, would emerge victorious, 7-5.  

 
SCORES:  
Spring Arbor 3, Saint Francis 2
Spring Arbor 7, Saint Francis 5 

LOCATION:  
Hank Burbridge Field  

RECORDS:  
Spring Arbor 25-17, 15-13; Saint Francis 20-20, 17-11 

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS: 

Friday's game saw some stellar pitching performances, and game one on Saturday proved to be more of the same. Both teams would go scoreless for the first two innings before Saint Francis struck first in the top of the third, using an infield single, stolen base, groundout that advanced the runner, and a sacrifice fly to manufacture a run, and take a 1-0 lead.  

From that point, both offenses would sputter for the next three frames, as Spring Arbor starter Kyler Hinken and Saint Francis starter Blaine McRae continued to duel. McRae had completely dominated the Spring Arbor lineup for the first six frames, only allowing one hit, but that all changed in the bottom of the seventh.  

The inning began with a Ryan Gonzalez single to right field, and Jake Zeeb moved him over with a sacrifice bunt. Cade Heckendorn pinch ran for Gonzalez, and the next hitter Brenden Phillips singled to right to move Heckendorn to third and put runners on the corners for Connor Dee with a chance to tie the game. Dee would come through, sneaking a ground ball single through the right side to score Heckendorn and tie the score. Zach Adams would follow that up with a single of his own to load the bases, and pinch hitter Braydon Gregory would give the Cougars a 2-1 lead with an infield chopper to score Phillips.  

Both teams would go scoreless in the eighth, giving Spring Arbor a chance to seal the victory with a clean top of the ninth. However, Saint Francis had other plans, putting together a rally using a double and an RBI single to tie the game at 2 apiece.  

This gave Spring Arbor a chance to win the game in the bottom half of the ninth, and that they would do, as Connor Dee came in clutch once again, blasting a walk-off home run to center field, sparking a celebration and giving the Cougars a 3-2 victory.  
 
 

GAME ONE PERFORMERS 

Pitching:  

Kyler Hinken: 8.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 12 K's 

Jack Will: Win, 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K 

Hitting: 

Connor Dee: 2 for 4, HR, R, 2 RBI 

Ryan Gonzalez: 2 for 4 

Zach Adams: 1 for 3 

Brenden Phillips: 1 for 4, R 

Braydon Gregory: 0 for 1, RBI 

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS: 

After the excitement in game one, the Cougar offense carried that momentum into runs early in game two. After a scoreless first for both teams, Spring Arbor started a rally in the bottom of the second, as Dee doubled to right, Gregory was hit by a pitch, and Seth Clothier walked to load the bases. Eli DeVisser would bring the run across on a ground out to second, and gave the Cougars an early 1-0 lead.  

Starter Trammell Lindstrom continued to deal for Spring Arbor, tossing a scoreless third inning, and in the bottom half, the offense got back to work. Gonzalez led off the inning with a walk which forced Saint Francis starter Perry Stow out of the contest. The next hitter, Jake Zeeb would lay down a perfect bunt down the first base line, and reached, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Gonzalez would then get picked off at second after going too far on an attempted bunt by Phillips, but Phillips would reach on the next pitch after getting one down, forcing an errant throw and putting runners at first and second again, but this time with one out. Dee was next up, and would strike out, but Gregory and Clothier would come in clutch with two outs, both singling, with Clothier's knock bringing two home and extending the Cougar lead to 3-0.  

Despite the Spring Arbor effort to take control of the contest the inning prior, Saint Francis would respond, leading off the top of the fourth with a single and a two-run home run to put themselves right back in it at 3-2. SAU could not respond in the bottom half, and in the top of the fifth, Saint Francis would rally again, using a single, stolen base, and then two straight RBI singles to take their first lead of the game, 4-3. Spring Arbor would once again be held scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, and Saint Francis would hold the slim lead going into the final two frames.  

In the top of the sixth, Saint Francis looked like they were starting another threat, using back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second with nobody out, and forcing Lindstrom out of the game. However, Jack Will came out of the bullpen and immediately stifled the rally, striking out the first two hitters he faced and inducing a groundout to get SAU out of the inning unscathed. In the bottom of the sixth, the Spring Arbor offense would use the momentum from the escape in the top half to start a rally of their own. 

Clothier got things started by reaching on a dropped third strike passed ball, and Eli DeVisser would single to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Joey Tessmer would bunt both runners over, and Aiden Brunin would tie the score on an RBI fielder's choice, as pinch runner Jake Spedoske beat the throw home. Two batters later, Jake Zeeb would put the Cougars ahead, roping a single to left that got under the left fielders glove and rolled all the way to the wall, scoring both DeVisser and Brunin and giving Spring Arbor a 6-4 lead. Phillips would follow that up with a bloop double to left that scored Zeeb, giving SAU a 7-4 lead heading into the final frame.  

In the top of the seventh, after a quick first out, Saint Francis showed some fight, using a double, RBI single, and walk to pull within two, 7-5, and put the tying run on base with one out. Colin Snyder would get the call out of the bullpen for Spring Arbor to shut the door, and that he did, inducing a flyout and ground out to seal the Cougar victory, as well as a doubleheader sweep on senior day.  

The two wins gave the Cougars their 21st and 22nd home victories of the season, putting their final record at Hank Burbridge Field in the 2024-2025 season at 22-8, good for a .733 winning percentage. This is their best mark at home since 2014, when they went 12-3 at home, good for a .800 winning percentage.  

GAME TWO PERFORMERS: 

Pitching: 

Trammell Lindstrom: 5.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's 

Jack Will: Win, 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's 

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

Hitting: 

Jake Zeeb: 2 for 4, 2 R, RBI 

Seth Clothier: 1 for 2, 2 RBI, BB 

Brenden Phillips: 1 for 3, 2B, R, RBI, SAC Bunt 

Eli DeVisser: 1 for 3, R, RBI 

Ryan Gonzalez: 1 for 3, BB 

Connor Dee: 1 for 4, 2B, R 

Aiden Brunin: 1 for 4, R, RBI, SB 

Braydon Gregory: 1 for 2, HBP 

UP NEXT 
Spring Arbor will hit the road for the first of two road trips to end the regular season, traveling to Huntington, Indiana to take on the Foresters in a four-game series. Because of the Good Friday holiday, the series will begin on Thursday with a doubleheader. First pitch is currently scheduled for 3:00 PM.