LOUISVILLE, Ohio -- On Friday afternoon the Malone University baseball team opened up their final home series of the 2021 season. The Pioneers welcomed the Lake Erie College Storm to Andy Aljancic Field at Louisville High School for a doubleheader. 

Things looked bleak early on for Malone (14-16, 8-14 G-MAC) in the opener. The Pioneers were no-hit for the first 6.2 innings of play. That all changed late as a Bryan Yoder smoked a three-run, walk-off homerun to hand the Storm (4-23, 2-18) the loss.

The bats came alive late again in game two, this time to the tune of a 10-run bottom of the sixth inning that powered the Pioneers to a 13-5 win and a sweep of the doubleheader. 

Special Guest
Prior to the doubleheader the Pioneers welcomed Carson Thatcher to the field. Carson is a 10-year old boy who loves baseball, but is battling medulloblastoma. Since his diagnosis Carson has undergone both radiation and chemotherapy treatments. He decided to turn his love for hats into something that he hopes will help lift the spirits of others undergoing similar challenges. As a result Carson created "Hats For Hope."

The Malone SAAC recently jumped on board Carson's "Hats For Hope" campaign, and collected over 100 hats on campus. To date Carson has collected nearly 5,000 hats!

Game 1 Highlights
Lake Erie scored first when they capitalized on a Malone defensive miscue to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning.

The Pioneers threatened several times in the early innings, but they were unable to break through for any runs. Malone was actually held hitless for the first 6.2 innings of the game, but eight walks allowed them to put plenty of pressure on the Storm defense. 

Lake Erie scored again in the top of the seventh inning to push their lead out to 2-0.

Malone's offense finally ended the no-hit bid, and scored their first runs of the game all on one play in the bottom of the seventh. 

Stone King and Evan Balzano drew back-to-back walks to set the table and force the Storm to go to their bullpen. Andrew Hanna laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both of the the runners into scoring position, but after picking up another out on a fielder's choice Lake Erie looked poised to get out of the inning. 

Joe Crank had a different plan. He drove a ball over the right fielder's head for a triple. King and Anthony Sinicropi, who had entered the game earlier in the inning as a pinch runner, both came in to score on Malone's first hit of the game.

After seven full innings of baseball the game was tied at 2-2.

Unfortunately the Storm answered right back in the top of the eighth with two runs of their own to retake the lead at 4-2. 

The Pioneers drew two more walks in their half of the inning, but could not answer back with a run. 

Danny Miller entered from the bullpen in the top of the ninth and retired the side in order.

With one-out in the bottom of the ninth Crank singled. Jake Aleman followed that up with a double to set the stage for some late-game heroics. With the tying run now on base LEC once again went to the bullpen. The change did not phase Bryan Yoder. He sent the very first pitch he saw over the centerfield fence for a no-doubt, walk-off homerun. 


Game 2 Highlights
The Pioneers capitalized on the momentum from the walk-off win, and scored first in game two. Tyson Gingerich led off the bottom of the first inning with a single. After he stole both second and third base an Aleman single allowed him to score the game's first run. 

Lake Erie responded with a solo homerun in the top of the second to tie the game at 1-1. 

Malone used nearly the same small-ball recipe from the first inning to break that tie in the third. Gingerich hit a one-out single. He then stole second base, and moved to third on another groundout. Once again it was Aleman who singled up the middle to allow Gingerich to score and give the Pioneers a 2-1 advantage. 

To say "the wind was blowing out" would be an understatement. The Storm used a two-run homerun to take a 3-2 lead in fourth inning. 

Malone battled back to tie the game in the fifth when Andrew Hanna scored on a Lake Erie throwing error. 

One again however LEC got a two-run home run. This time in the top of the sixth inning to retake the lead at 5-3. 

With just six outs to work with, and trailing by the two runs, the MU offense broke the game absolutely wide open in the bottom of the sixth inning. 

Joe Watts doubled and JC Philippi reached on an error to bring the go-ahead run to the plate in the form of Stone King. King quickly put Malone on top by crushing a no-doubt homerun over the right field fence. The Pioneers did not stop there however.

Evan Balzano followed King with a solo shot to make it back-to-back homeruns. Later in the inning the Pioneers loaded the bases and Philippi, batting for the second time in the inning, hit a grand slam. 

All told, Malone sent 14 men to the plate in the inning. The Pioneers plated 10 runs on 9 hits, including the three homeruns to take a 13-5 lead. 

Clyde Yoder retired the side in order in the top of the seventh to finish off his first complete game of the season. 


PIONEER POINTS

• Bryan Yoder's homerun in game one was the first of his collegiate career. He now has 11 RBIs on the season.

• Despite getting handed a no-decision in game one, Clay Cooper lowered his season ERA to a team-best 2.41.

• The three homeruns hit by the Pioneers in game two is the most by Malone since they hit four against Walsh in April of 2019. With Yoder, Balzano, and King all leaving the yard for the first time this season Malone now has seven different players who have homered this season.

• Clyde Yoder's win in game two gives him a team-high four on the season. He has a perfect 4-0 mark.

WHAT'S NEXT?
These two teams will return to Louisville High School tomorrow to wrap up the series with another doubleheader. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. In between the games Malone will celebrate Senior Day with an on-field ceremony.