UTICA, Mich. - The University of Michigan-Dearborn baseball team concluded the fall portion of the 2018 season, traveling to Lawrence Tech for three Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference games, including a doubleheader Saturday and one more on Sunday at Jimmy Johns Field in Utica, Mich.
The Wolverines and Blue Devils slugged it out in the first two games with Lawrence Tech taking game one 15-12 and game two 11-10 in 10 innings. The Blue Devils pulled away for an 11-3 win in the finale to complete the sweep to drop UM-Dearborn to 0-9 overall and 0-9 in the WHAC.
Game one saw UM-Dearborn fall behind 9-0 after the Blue Devils scored nine in the third inning. After getting on the board with a two-run Antonio Carta (SO/Allen Park, MI) home run in the fourth, the Wolverines poured nine runs on LTU in the fifth to take an 11-9 advantage.
The inning started with an RBI double from Ryan Beadle (SO/Kalamazoo, MI) and after the Wolverines got two runs on a throwing error, Chase Turner (SR/Franklin, MI) singled to left field for an RBI. The big blow of the inning came off the bat of Ramiro Rodriguez (FR/Southgate, MI), who sent a three-run home run over the left field fence. Daniel Kerr(JR/Macomb, MI) doubled home two more to close the frame.
After LTU got one back in the fifth, Cole VanWagoner(SO/Mancelona, MI) drove home Justin Dolney(FR/Canton, MI) with a single to right to put UM-Dearborn up 12-10. A pair of two-run home runs from LTU flipped the game in favor of the Blue Devils.
Kerr, Carta, Turner, and Rodriguez each finished with two hits, as the Wolverines totaled 12 runs on 12 hits and two errors. Nick Montroy (JR/Garden City, MI) took the loss, going three innings, allowing five runs, three earned, on four hits, while striking out three. Montroy is 0-1 on the season.
In the second game, UM-Dearborn got the lead early with a Carta RBI single in the first. The Wolverines extended the lead with four runs in the third, including a second RBI single from Carta. Dolney and Turner each added RBI knocks to make it 5-0. The Blue Devils took their first lead in the fifth, scoring six times. LTU extended their lead with two in the seventh on a home run.
The game turned back in favor of UM-Dearborn with four runs in the top of the eighth. Beadle and Dolney both walked to drive in a pair of runs, while Rodriguez came through again with a two-run single to put his team up 9-8.
LTU again played long ball with a two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth to move back in front before Kerr doubled home a run to even the score in the ninth, forcing extra innings. An RBI single in the 10th gave the Blue Devils their second win of the day.
Shaun Hannibal (FR/Brighton, MI), and Kerr each had three hits and two runs scored, while Beadle, Carta, Rodriguez and Turner each added two hits. The Wolverines totaled 10 runs on 15 hits and one error.
Cameron Winn (FR/Wyandotte, MI) took the loss in relief, allowing two runs on three hits and walking three in two innings pitched. Winn is 0-1 on the season.
The finale on Sunday started off slow on the offensive side, with the game tied at 2-2 heading to the bottom of the fifth. The Blue Devils scored two in the fifth, four in the seventh and three in the eighth to take control. After falling behind 2-0, the Wolverines rallied to tie the score with RBI singles from Hannibal and Kerr in the fifth. Paul Husak Jr. (FR/Livonia, MI) walked home a run in the ninth to close the scoring for UM-Dearborn, which totaled three runs on five hits and two errors.
Dan Bos (FR/Livonia, MI) got the start for the Wolverines, going 6.2 innings, allowing eight runs, seven earned on 11 hits, while striking out two. Bos is 0-3 on the season.
The Wolverines return to action in the spring of 2018 to continue the inaugural season for the program.
