HOLLAND, Mich. – Albion College scored eight times in the seventh inning to rally for a 16-10 victory over Hope College in the second game of a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association baseball doubleheader at Boeve Stadium.
The victory gave Albion a split of the four-game MIAA series against Hope and leaves the Britons at 19-16 overall and 14-10 against MIAA rivals.
Albion will take the field against Trine University in its final MIAA series of the regular season. It begins with a doubleheader at Jannen Field in Angola, Ind., next Friday.
Game One: Hope 7, Albion 3
Mason Opple hit a grand slam in the first inning and Hope never trailed from that point.
Kellan Huang drove in three runs for Albion, including a single in the second that cut the deficit to 4-3.
Albion didn't get the shutdown inning, however, as Hope answered with two runs in the second. Hope added an insurance run in the seventh.
Sean Haddlesey and Drew Olszewski collected three hits apiece for Albion.
Game Two: Albion 16, Hope 10
Andrew Arszulowicz, Riley Stesiak, Haddlesey, Justin Charron, and Matt Bur all drove in runs during Albion's seventh inning uprising.
Connor Ziparo (1-0) hit the first batter he faced in the sixth inning, but he received help when Arszulowicz started a 3-6-3 double play. Opple followed by hitting a line drive to Olszewski at third base.
It was Ziparo's first victory at the collegiate level.
Haddlesey and Charron scored three times apiece for Albion.
The Series
Olszewski hit .615 (8-for-13) with two doubles and a triple. He drew five walks and was hit by a pitch to raise his on base percentage to .737.
Haddlesey hit .444 (8-for-18) with three doubles. He scored eight runs.
Arszulowicz hit .412 (7-for-17) with a double and five RBI.
Huang drove in five runs, moving his season team-leading total to 38 RBI. Michael Fischbach owns Albion's single-season record with 42 RBI during the 2015 season.
Twitter: @BritonsBaseball
Joe and Julie Serra have given a $5 million leadership gift to launch a fundraising initiative to make two dreams a reality at Albion College. The first is a newly expanded fitness and student activity facility at the site of the current Dow Recreation and Wellness Center. The second is a new or renovated competition facility for the volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball that currently call Kresge Gymnasium home.
The College is continuing to raise funds in support of both projects. To learn more, call 517/629-0446 or email advancement@albion.edu.