Box Score

The Malone University baseball team suffered a 2-1 road loss on Thursday afternoon in the finale of its three-game Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) series with rival Walsh University.

Down 2-0 entering the top of the ninth, Malone threatened to pull ahead with a late rally.

Leftfielder Keanan Locke started the comeback attempt by drawing a lead-off walk.  The freshman then later moved to second base on a one-out single by centerfielder Daulton Ritter.  Catcher Hayden Mobley then stepped to the plate and cut the deficit in half with an RBI single to left.

A wild pitch during the next at-bat moved the tying run to third and the go-ahead run to second.  However, much like he had done in game two of Wednesday's doubleheader at Thurman Munson Stadium, Cavalier closer Neal Edwards managed to escape trouble, securing the one-run victory with a pair of strikeouts.

Edwards, who entered at the start of the ninth, notched his third save of the year.  Walsh starting pitcher Brandon Whitslar earned the win, improving his record to 1-1 on the season after limiting the Pioneers to three hits over the first eight innings.

Right-hander Jared Messer started on the mound for Malone and suffered the loss (2-2) despite surrendering just one earned run on seven hits over the first seven innings.

Walsh got on the scoreboard with an RBI double by centerfielder Justin Clements in the bottom of the fifth.  The Cavs then made it 2-0 in the sixth with another RBI double, this one off the bat of second baseman RJ Vukovich.

Ritter paced the Pioneer offense, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of singles and a sacrifice bunt.

Malone slipped to 8-11 overall and 1-5 in GLIAC play with the defeat while Walsh improved to 9-7 overall and 3-3 in conference games.

The Pioneers will look to bounce back on Friday at home with a 1:00 p.m. GLIAC doubleheader vs. Northwood (MI) University.