MARION, Ind. -- Freshman designated hitter Mike Lymberopolous drove home the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh as Indiana Wesleyan University baseball won their first conference game this season by a 12-11 margin over Spring Arbor (Mich.) University on Tuesday afternoon at Wildcat Field.
The game was a back and forth affair as the wind was howling out all day long which set the stage for a wild affair in game one.
Indiana Wesleyan (11-23, 1-7 MCC) took a lead on the first pitch in the bottom of the first when freshman leftfielder Peter Engle crushed a home run to left center fielder. Courtesy runner Tim Zeigler later scored in the inning off a single from shortstop Ben Zachary and an error made on the ball in the outfield as IWU led 2-0 after one inning.
Spring Arbor captured the lead in the next half inning with three runs in the top of the second. SAU would build the lead to 6-2 with one run in the third and two more in the fourth.
Indiana Wesleyan would regain the lead with a big five run fourth inning.
Sophomore third baseman Brice Davis singled home one run and Lymberopolous followed with a two-run double. Sophomore rightfielder CJ Sandmann drove in Lymberopolous with two outs and senior centerfielder TJ Fletcher would also score on a throwing error to complete the five run inning and a 7-6 lead.
The Wildcats seemed to put the game away in the sixth inning with four insurance runs for an 11-6 advantage.
The big blow in the inning was Sandmann's bases loaded double that scored two runs. Sophomore catcher Alex Ridlen hit next and drove home another two runs for the five run cushion.
But errors continued to plague Indiana Wesleyan in the game as Spring Arbor was able to plate five runs on three hits and two errors.
Indiana Wesleyan was resilient in the bottom of the seventh though.
Zachary led the inning off with a walk and was sacrificed to second by junior second baseman Derek Freds. Following a lineout to second base, Lymberopolous drove the ball to the opposite field as Zachary crossed home plate standing up to touch off a celebration around the plate.
Junior relief pitcher Ryne Brown was credited with the win. He allowed an unearned run in his only inning of work.
Lymberopolous was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, three RBI and two runs. Sandmann finished 2-for-4 with a double, three RBI and one run while Ridlen collected a pair of hits and two RBI.
Spring Arbor (20-9, 7-3 MCC) rebounded in game two in a big way with a 21-2, five inning run rule victory.
Indiana Wesleyan scored first with two runs in the first inning. But Spring Arbor scored at least four runs in the next four innings to earn the doubleheader split. Ridlen hit 1-for-2 in the game with a RBI and one run scored.
The Wildcats return to the diamond at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 10 as Indiana Wesleyan travels to play University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Box scores: Game 1 | Game 2
