Box Score

The Malone University baseball team suffered a 4-2 loss in the first game of a doubleheader at Cedarville University on Tuesday afternoon.  The Pioneers then held a 3-1 lead in the finale before the contest was called off with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning due to thunder, lightning and heavy rains.  Game two did not reach the minimum number of innings to be counted as "official" and will likely not be continued or re-scheduled.

Malone fell to 26-19 with the defeat while the Yellow Jackets improved to 32-10.

The Pioneers will be back in action on Thursday afternoon with a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader at local rival Walsh University (26-22 overall).

Third baseman Bob Suitca staked Malone to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after smacking a two-out RBI double into the left-centerfield gap.  A two-out RBI single by Cedarville second baseman Paul Hembekides knotted things up at 1-1 in the bottom of the second.  A Pioneer fielding error and three straight two-out singles then allowed the Yellow Jackets to pull ahead with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the third.

A line of showers moved through the area midway through the fourth inning, halting game one for approximately 50 minutes.  Following the rain delay, Malone managed to cut the deficit to 3-2 in the top of the sixth as catcher T.J. Rosenberg drew a one-out walk and then came all the way around to score on a double to left-center by second baseman Logan Gray.  A two-out error later in the inning moved Gray to third, but Cedarville starting pitcher Jordan Ammon managed to preserve the Yellow Jacket lead by inducing the next batter into a groundout to shortstop.

Cedarville tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth as third baseman Ryan Ledbetter led off the inning with a double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a single to center by catcher Dan Petke.

Yellow Jacket pitcher Michael Roe then came on in the top of the seventh and worked a 1-2-3 inning to cement the victory and pick up his first save of the year.

Ammon earned the win (8-1) for CU after surrendering the two runs on seven hits over the first six innings.  Malone starter Jared Messer took the loss (8-3) after tossing the first three frames, allowing three runs (only one of which was earned) on six hits. 

The Pioneers tallied seven hits in the contest, led by Gray who went 2-for-3 at the plate.