ROYAL OAK, Mich. — In the first official fall regular season non-conference series since 2022, the Bethel Pilots (1-1) split games one and two of the series against the University of Michigan-Dearborn (1-5) in a high-scoring 16-3 victory and lost the second game 7-6 at Leprechauns Stadium on Friday.
GAME 1
Sophomore right-hander Lucas Nowacki had a solid four-inning start, two shy of a quality game, only allowed one hit, and walked one with four strikeouts to earn the win.
Jordan Landkrohn gave the Pilots their first run with a one-out double to left center plating junior transfer Adam Walters.
Andrew Dillon laced an RBI single to center to score Ta’Shaun Coleman from third base after Coleman’s stolen base to go up 2-0 over the Wolverines. Walters followed with a big three-run triple in the next at-bat and grew the lead to 5-0. With two outs, Landkrohn scored Walters after an error by the Wolverine center fielder and increased the lead to 6-0.
In the top of the third, Walters kept his impressive Bethel debut going with a two-RBI double to right center for an 8-0 lead.
The top of the fourth yielded even more runs for BU with Corbin Greenslade slapping his first home run of the season with a three-run bomb and Walters hit his second double of the game, scoring two more runs, 13-0. The next at-bat Jesse Stout singled to the second baseman to score two more Pilots and grew the lead to 15-0 and Landkrohn doubled to right center to score Stout, 16-0.
The Wolverines broke up the shutout in the bottom of the fifth after grounding out to freshman pitcher Weston Harvey 16-1. UMD put up two more runs in the bottom of the sixth with a single up the middle and an RBI single to center but the Pilots held the Wolverines for the 16-3 win.
Bethel had seven extra-base hits including a home run, triple, and five doubles in their season opener.
GAME 2
It was a much closer game in the nightcap of the doubleheader with the first two frames going scoreless and Landkrohn batting in the first run of the game, in the top of the third, with a sacrifice fly to left field to bring in Dylan Cook from third.
Elijah Gaines doubled to right field in the top of the fourth to give the Pilots a 2-0 lead but UMD battled back in the bottom of the fourth with an error by the second baseman followed by a two-RBI single up the middle and a sacrifice fly to right to give the Wolverines first lead of the day 4-2.
The sixth was eventful with the Pilots tying the game from Cook’s single through the right side 4-4, then Dillon struck a sacrifice fly to left to re-take the lead 5-4. The Wolverines tied the game back to 5-5 off an RBI single to right and took back the lead with a single up the middle 6-5, then looped in another run from a single to right center 7-5.
In the seventh inning final stretch the Pilots were close to forcing a bottom of the seventh after Jacob Sitterly laced an RBI single to left but the Pilots were held by a line out to short and a strike out to end the game with a Michigan-Dearborn win 7-6.
NEXT TIME OUT
The series continues with two, seven-inning games at Jenkins Stadium with the first pitch scheduled for noon on Saturday, Sept. 28.