Men Obtain A Win In KVCC Series

The men began the series hosted by Lake Michigan, at the Al Stockman Stadium, and fell 7-9 in the first game. Kalamazoo scored in the first inning via a solo home run. The Red Hawks answered back in the second tieing the game 1-1. The Cougars then went on another run in the third inning scoring three runs, two runs in the fourth inning, and one in the fifth inning. Lake Michigan did not back down and went on a hitting spree started by Marcus Bradford with a double in the bottom of the fifth. The men were able to push six runs across the plate and tied the game 7-7. Kalamazoo Valley kept up the fight and scored two more in the sixth to take the 9-7 lead. The Red Hawks could not answer back and fell 7-9.

Zachary Banks was the losing pitcher allowing six runs with three strike outs and one walk. The men had eight hits for the game. Bradford had a double and a single with two RBI's while Aaron Federman also had a double and a single. Dalton Riddle hit a double and with an RBI as Kaleb Burke hit a double with two RBI's.

In the second game, it was Kalamazoo Valley that answered first scoring a run in the third, a run in the fourth, and three in the fifth. The Red Hawks pushed two across in the bottom of the fifth but could not muster any more and took the 2-5 loss. 

Ryan Remus lead the team by hitting a double and two singles with an RBI while Kaleb Burke hit a double and was able to score. Nick Frodl took the loss allowing the five runs but had two strike outs.

The men traveled to Kalamazoo Valley for the third game of the series on Sunday, March 24 and dropped the first game 4-1. Both teams were scoreless for two innings but the Cougars were able to score two in the third. It was another scoreless inning in the fourth but Kalamazoo Valley scored two more in the fifth inning. The sixth inning neither team was able to score.  Kaleb Burke came into the top of the seventh and hit his first home run of the season to put the Red Hawks on the board. Unfortunately, that was the only Lake Michigan run scored and the men fell 1-4.

Lake Michigan had six hits including the Burke bomb. Owen Benson hit a double while Marcus Bradford, Cole Searles, Dalton Riddle, and Danny Mahoney all had singles. Nick Henman took the loss for the men with six innings pitched. 

It was the fourth game where the men woke up their bats and tightened their defense. The first inning was scoreless but the Red Hawks started things off in the second with Danny Mahoney hitting a single on the first pitch. The men were able to score two runs. They kept the Cougars quite in the bottom of the second inning. Lake Michigan was able to score five more runs in the third with a three run homer by Owen Benson. Kalamazoo Valley tried to catch up by scoring two runs in the fourth and one in the sixth but Lake Michigan came out with the 7-3 win.

Marcus Bradford gained the win on the mound. Cole Searles hit a double while Chad Adkerson, Danny Mahoney, and Kaleb Burke all had singles with RBI's. Dalton Riddle and Aaron Federman also hit singles for the men. 

Lake Michigan is slated to host Kellogg Community College on Friday, March 29, 2019 with the first game starting at 2:00 pm.