Big seventh inning helps Albion subdue Kalamazoo
in opening game of MIAA series

» GAME STATISTICS

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Powered by a three-run homerun by senior Matt Shook (Coldwater/Coldwater), the Albion College baseball team scored six runs in the seventh inning and went on to post a 9-1 victory over Kalamazoo College in the opening game of a three-game Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association series.

With the victory, Albion (13-9 overall, 3-1 MIAA) kept pace with Adrian College as the only teams with one loss in league play. Albion and Kalamazoo will complete the series with a doubleheader of seven inning games Saturday, while Adrian, a 9-6 victor over Hope Friday, will play a twinbill in Holland, Mich., Saturday.

Albion jumped out to an early lead Friday, scoring a run in each of the first two innings. In the first inning, junior Brian Sayers (Chelsea/Chelsea) laced a one-out single and advanced to second on a stolen base and took third on a wild pitch. Sayers scored when senior Mike Cieszkowski (Howell/Hartland) grounded to the shortstop. In the second, sophomore Mike Pisha (Wixom/Walled Lake Western) launched his third homerun of the season.

Kalamazoo cut its deficit in half when it scored a run in the bottom of the fourth inning, but that was as close as the Hornets would get.

Albion went on the offensive in the sixth, adding a run as junior Mike Gough (Newport/Monroe St. Mary's) doubled to drive in Pisha. In the seventh, Cieszkowski and Gough contributed RBI singles to go along with Shook's second blast of the season.

On the mound, junior Jonathan Hastings (Fort Gratiot/Port Huron Northern) pitched his third complete game of the season and improved to 4-0. He scattered five hits and three walks while striking out nine.

Updated April 09, 2004 by Albion College Sports Information