The Hope College baseball team treated itself on Easter weekend, sweeping a three-game series from an MIAA opponent for the first time this season and continuing to rise in the league standings.
Last place two weeks ago, the Flying Dutchmen are in fifth place now, just one game out of the final spot for the MIAA Tournament, after taking both ends of Saturday’s doubleheader at Albion College.. The Orange and Blue won, 11-6 and 3-1, one day after dramatically rallying to take the opener, 10-9, in 10 innings on a walk-off homer.
Hope trailed the Britons by two games heading into this weekend. Winners in six of its last seven games, the Flying Dutchmen (12-21) are one game behind fourth-place Kalamazoo College with a 7-8 MIAA record with two regular-season series remaining.
The Orange and Blue next play on Friday, April 25, at 4 p.m. at home against first-place Adrian College in the series opener at Boeve Baseball Stadium.
In Game 1, Hope erupted for a six-run top of the eighth to seize a 9-4 lead.
Juniors Jace DeMann (Byron Center, Michigan / South Christian) and Brenden Collins (Kalamazoo, Michigan / Hackett Catholic) started the decisive rally with RBI doubles. Two batters later, senior Dylan Kleinedler (Sterling Heights, Michigan / Stevenson) blasted a grand slam, Hope’s second of the season, for a 9-4 lead.
DeMann added an RBI double in a two-run ninth and finished with 13 hits.
Freshman Josiah Long (Newaygo, Michigan / Newaygo) earned the victory with a season-best 5.1 innings of relief. Pitching into the ninth, the righthander struck out a season-high six on the mound. Long (1-2) allowed seven hits but just two runs.
In Game 2, junior Cade Seabaugh (Ballwin, Missouri / Ladue Horton) blasted a go-ahead, two-run homer in the second inning. Friday’s walk-off hero homered for the sixth time this season and the fifth time in six games.
Albion scored in the fourth, but Collins answered with an RBI double in the sixth.
Sophomore Thomas Bacigalupo (Midland, Michigan / H.H. Dow) stranded two Albion runners after entering in the fourth and shut out the Britons (13-17, 6-8 MIAA) over the final 5.1 innings.
Bacigalupo (2-2) struck out three while giving up only three hits and two walks.
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