FREDERICK, Md. – A bottom of the ninth comeback came up just short, as the Hood College baseball team could not get the tying run across the plate as they fell to Wilson College 5-4 on a cold, wet day.
At the Plate
Austin Rhue (Milton, Del./Cape Henlopen) led the way at the plate, going 2-3 with two walks and scoring once.
Stephen Sommer (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun) drove in three runners.
Tyler Schwarzman (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) went 1-2, drawing a walk and stealing two bases.
On the Mound
Frank Spaide (Bensalem, Pa./Conwell-Egan Catholic) gave up two runs off of three hits in four innings, striking out four batters and walking two.
Gavin Pollard (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley) allowed zero runs in his relief inning, striking out one batter and getting the other two to foul out and ground out.
How it Happened
Hood got on the board first in the third inning, taking advantage of a Wilson error to get two batters across the plate for the early lead.
The Phoenix tied the game in their next trip to the plate, as a wild pitch allowed one run to score before a single scored another.
After a scoreless fifth inning, Wilson took the lead as good baserunning allowed a run to score on a sacrifice fly, with the next batter singling the runner on third home.
Needing some momentum, the Blazers managed to tie the game back up with one swing of the bat in the seventh inning, with a Rhue and Schwarzman double steal setting up Sommer, who hit the ball between the first and second baseman to easily score Rhue, with a bold send of Schwarzman paying off as the speedy centerfielder managed to slide under the catcher's tag.
Despite the Phoenix taking a 5-4 lead in the top of the ninth, Hood looked poised to walk the game off with a leadoff single from Rhue, but a Schwarzman groundout and back-to-back strikeouts ended the game, stranding Rhue on third.
For the Opponent
Harry Middlebrooks finished the day 2-3 with two RBIs.
Up Next
The Blazers travel to Lancaster, Pennsylvania for a game against Lancaster Bible Friday, March 1 at 3:30 p.m.
