Box Score

The Malone University baseball team concluded its weekend series against Tiffin University on Sunday afternoon by pocketing an 8-7 victory at Thurman Munson Stadium.

After falling behind by scores of 3-0 and 6-5 earlier in the afternoon, the Pioneers plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to grab a 7-6 lead.  The Dragons tied it with a two-out RBI single in the top of the eighth before Malone answered back in the bottom of the frame. 

Second baseman Austin Pachan opened the eighth by drawing a walk and then promptly stole second.  Pachan moved to third on a single to right by shortstop Kyler King and then headed for home moments later with the go-ahead run when a pitch squirted away from the Tiffin catcher.  The Dragons recovered the ball and fired it to the plate, but Pachan's aggressiveness paid off as he slid in safely ahead of the tag.

Tiffin put a runner on base in the top of the ninth with a one-out walk but Malone reliever Brad Beachy induced a groundball double play to preserve the 8-7 victory and pick up his second save of the season.

Malone improved to 14-16 overall and 9-6 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) with the win while Tiffin slipped to 8-21 overall and 7-5 in conference play.

Tiffin plated three runs in the top of the first to grab the early advantage.  Malone quickly pulled ahead, though, with four runs in the bottom of the inning.  The Pioneers got RBi singles in the frame from first baseman Logan Gray, designated hitter Michael Chack, and catcher Matt Davis.  Rightfielder Matt Wheeler also picked up an RBI in the first inning when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

The Dragons would make it 5-4 in the second with a two-run single before Davis knotted things up at 5-5 in the third by lining an RBI single down the leftfield line. 

The score then remained deadlocked until the sixth when Tiffin regained the lead with a sacrifice fly.  However, it was not enough as the Pioneers rallied back for the win with their two runs in the seventh and one run in the eighth.

Right-hander Jack McDonald started on the mound for Malone and tossed the first 5.1 innings, yielding six runs (two earned) on six hits.  Joe Costello followed with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief.  Branden Carey earned the win (1-0) after working the eighth.

The Pioneers notched 12 hits in the contest, led by Davis and Gray.  Davis went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI's   Gray also posted three hits with two runs scored and one run batted in.

Malone will be back in action on Wednesday at Thurman Munson Stadium as it wraps up its 11-game homestand with a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader against Ohio Dominican University.