GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The University of Michigan-Dearborn baseball team slashed 23 hits in a doubleheader against Cornerstone on Friday (Mar. 29). Despite scoring 17 runs between the two games, the Wolverines dropped both games to the Golden Eagles. Carter Stephenson had a career day, tallying six hits in nine at-bats.
The middle of the Wolverines' order was phenomenal at the plate. Stephenson, Matthew Williams, and Matthew Balash slashed nine doubles and recorded 11 RBIs to spark the Wolverine offense.
The Wolverines plated four runs in the opening frame, starting with an RBI single to score Max McLennan. After Williams reached on a fielding error, he later scored the second run on a wild pitch. Back-to-back doubles from Balash and Roberto Torres would score two more runs, making it 4-0. The Golden Eagles would answer with three runs over the next two innings to make it 4-3 entering the third. Stephenson would again deliver for the Wolverines as he tagged a double down the right-field line to score Williams, making it 5-3.
Cornerstone's offense would come alive over the next three innings, scoring six unanswered runs to make it 9-5 after five innings. Down to their final at-bats, Balash would plate Williams on a double to right center, but the Wolverines couldn't manage anything else, ending game one in a 9-6 final.
Game two was an offensive onslaught, as the two teams would combine for 26 runs and 29 hits in the nine-inning contest. UM-Dearborn would record six extra-base hits in the contest. UM-Dearborn would plate a run in the top of the first after Stephenson again delivered with runners in scoring position, scoring Lance Smith on a single to center. CU would respond with three in the bottom half to make it 3-1. The scoring would continue in the second as the Wolverines loaded the bases with one out. McLennan was walked, scoring Beck Kjeldbjerg. The Wolverines would only score once more after a base running blunder gave the Golden Eagles an inning-ending double play.
Trailing 14-4 after CU rattled off 10 runs over the next three innings. UM-Dearborn would not go away easily. The Wolverines would score seven runs over the final three innings, ending the contest in a 15-11 final. Williams finished 2-5 with four RBIs and a pair of runs, while Stephenson was 4-5 with three RBIs.
