ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. – The University of Michigan-Dearborn baseball team dropped two of three in a weekend road series against Rochester College, concluding Sunday in Rochester Hills, Mich.
The Wolverines dropped the opener 11-6 but rebounded for an 11-5 win in the second game on Saturday. The teams battled through a back-and-forth contest in the finale on Sunday. Rochester established a 13-7 lead late in the contest and held off a Wolverine rally late to take the rubber match 13-12.
The series moves UM-Dearborn to 5-26 overall and 3-20 in the WHAC.
In the opener, Rochester jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but a three-run home run from Chase Turner (SR/Franklin, MI) pulled the Wolverines even in the sixth. The Warriors scored five in the eighth to pull away for the win. Shaun Hannibal (FR/Brighton, MI), Justin Dolney (FR/Canton, MI) and Waymond Lemon Jr. (JR/Detroit, MI) each finished with two hits, while Lemon Jr. added two RBIs.
In game two, the Wolverines opened the early lead and never trailed. Antonio Carta (SO/Allen Park, MI) hit a three-run double, followed by an RBI from Dolney in the first to take a 4-0 lead. Lemon Jr. hit his first home run of the season, a three-run blast in the seventh to put the game away.
John Dyda (FR/Wyandotte, MI) moved to 2-6 on the season with the win on the mound. He tossed six innings, allowing three runs on five hits while walking two and striking out nine.
The Wolverines opened an 8-3 lead in the sixth inning of game three on Sunday, but the Warriors rallied with eight in the seventh and held off UM-Dearborn late. Daniel Kerr (JR/Macomb, MI), Ryan Beadle (SO/Kalamazoo, MI) and Dolney each recorded RBIs in the first, while Cole VanWagoner (SO/Mancelona, MI) and Shaun Hannibal each drove in runs in the sixth. Dolney hit a two-run single in the eighth to pull UM-Dearborn closer late.
The Wolverines host Cornerstone University for three games starting at 4 pm Friday at Saline High School in Saline, Mich.
