Baseball Loses Pair To No. 21 Ashand

OVERVIEW – #21 ASHLAND

SCORES: Ashland Eagles 4, Northwood Timberwolves 4(Game 1), Ashland Eagles 12 (Game 2), Northwood Timberwolves 9

RECORDS: Northwood 28-16, 13-10 GLIAC/Ashland 34-8, 14-5 GLIAC

LOCATION: Fisher Stadium – Midland, Mich.

RECAP: Baseball drops pair of wild games to No. 21 Ashland, falling 8-4 in game one and 12-9 in game two

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Ashland took advantage of miscues and opened the scoring in the top of the first. An infield single and error put runners at second and third with zero out. A shallow base hit to right field brought both home to give the Eagles at 2-0 lead. Later in the frame, after a groundout moved a runner over to third, another single plated an additional run to make it 3-0 AU going into the bottom of the first.
• The Eagles added to their early lead in the second. An error and sacrifice bunt moved a runner to second with two out. A bouncing ball single through the right side extended Ashland's edge to 4-0 after two at-bats.
• Northwood cut into the deficit in the bottom of the second. Nick Palmer walked, Kyle Ziegler singled, and Trevor Polewka reached on a hit-by-pitch to load the bases with zero out. Keaton Sackett walked to earn an RBI, Ziegler scored on a passed ball, and Miles Hardy singled to bring another home as the Timberwolves cut the lead to 4-3 heading into the third.
• AU regained a portion of their lead in the fourth. An infield single, sacrifice bunt, and error put runners at first and third with one out. A line drive sacrifice fly plated another run to make it 5-3 Eagles.
• Later in the fourth, a passed ball, stolen base, and walk put runners at first and third with two out. The Ashland baserunner then initiated a rundown between first and second, allowing the runner from third to score and extend the lead to 6-3.
• Ashland restored their lead and tacked another run on in the fifth. After another error allowed a runner to reach, a base hit down the left field line coupled with a second miscue scored the sixth run. A passed ball brought home another run to make it 8-3 AU.
• NU chipped away in the sixth. Hardy and Michael Karam reached on infield singles to lead off the inning, and David Vinsky walked to load the bases with zero out. Ryan Chargo then cracked an RBI single to right field and cut the edge back down to four heading into the seventh.
• That was as far as the Timberwolves would get as they dropped the first game of the doubleheader.

GAME ONE STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors – Northwood: 4/9/6, Ashland: 8/8/1
• Runners Left on Base – Northwood: 9, Ashland: 7
• Winning Pitcher – Devin Peters (7-0): 5 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 K, 4 BB
• Losing Pitcher – Max Bain (7-1): 5 IP, 6 H, 8 R (0 ER), 4 K, 2 BB

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Hardy: 2-3, R, RBI
• Kyle Ziegler: 2-4, R
• Karam: 2-2, BB
• Nick Palmer: 1-3, R

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Ashland went right to work and drew first blood in the opening inning. After a leadoff single, a two run homer over the right-center field fence vaulted the visitors into a 2-0 lead after their first at-bats.
• Northwood responded in their half of the first. Michael Karam and David Vinsky doubled to put runners at second and third to lead off the frame. After a fielder's choice out at the plate denied the Timberwolves a run, a passed ball on the next pitch made it 2-1. Later in the frame with two outs and a runner at third, Kyle Ziegler drew NU even at 2 with an RBI single.
• The Eagles went ahead in the top of the fourth with a bang. After a lead-off single, a two-run homer over the right-field fence restored AU's two-run lead. Later in the frame, a double down the left-field line and groundout put a runner at third with one out. A line-drive single to left increased the edge to 5-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth.
• AU added insurance runs in the fifth to put the game out of reach. Back-to-back one-out walks put runners at first and second. Back-to-back doubles plated three more runs to make it 8-2. Later in the frame, a throwing error on a pick-off attempt and RBI single scored two more to make it a 10-2 game.
• Ashland threatened again in the seventh, loading the bases with two out. A two-run single extended the lead into double digits.
• Northwood chipped away and made it a game in the seventh. Brooks Ullery reached on a hit-by-pitch, Karam reached on an error, and Vinsky walked to load the bases with one out. Ullery scored on an error, Ziegler walked to earn an RBI, and Trevor Polewka reached on an infield single to make it a 12-5 game.
• Later in the seventh, with two outs and the bases still loaded, pinch-hitter Chris Clark doubled down the left-field line to clear the bases and cut the deficit down to 12-8. Ullery added another run with an RBI single to make it a three-run game. This was as close as NU would get, however, as they eventually dropped the second game of the doubleheader.

GAME TWO STATS

• Runs/Hits/Errors – Northwood: 9/7/3, Ashland: 12/15/2
• Runners Left on Base – Northwood: 6, Ashland: 7
• Winning Pitcher – Chance Hitchcock (6-1): 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R (2 ER), 6 K, 4 BB
• Losing Pitcher – Thomas Johnston (1-2): 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 K, 1 BB
• Save – Chris Slavik (6)

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Clark: 1-1, 2B, 3 RBI
• Ziegler: 1-3, 2 RBI, R, BB
• Polekwa: 2-3, RBI, R, BB
• Vinsky: 1-2, 2 R, BB

UP NEXT

• Northwood will host Ashland on Saturday (April 27) for a nine-inning contest against the Eagles on Senior Day. First pitch is set for Noon.