Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 CLEVELAND – Mother Nature must be a Statesmen fan, as the rain stayed to the south, and the Delta State baseball team held opening day at Ferriss Field with a double header. The Statesmen used late inning runs to get two wins over Lynn University.

Game one featured a pitching duel between the two teams. The Fighting Knights scored the games' first run in the top of the third inning. Austin Smith reached base on an error to lead off the inning for Lynn. Later in the inning with Smith on third, Corey Elasik struck out, but was able to reach first base after a dropped third strike, and an error by the Statesmen. Smith was able to score on the play which gave the Knights the early lead.

The Statesmen answered back in the bottom half of the third inning, and tied the game up at one. Jordan Chovanec led the inning off with a double before a sacrifice bunt by Josh Crowdus moved him to third. Sam Kidd then grounded out to second, but it was enough to bring Chovanec home to tie the game.

The Knights came back in the fourth inning, as they plated another run to retake the lead. Alex Bello led the inning off with a single, and later scored on a base hit by Smith.

Down a run in the fifth inning, the Statesmen came through to once again tie the game. Chovanec hit a one-out single, and was brought home by Kidd when he singled to right field.

The game remained tied up at two until the Statesmen offense came through in the bottom of the eighth. Back-to-back errors by the Knights put two runners on for the Statesmen with no outs. Brent Kakwitch then singled to load the bases for the Statesmen. Michael Vinson then reached base on the third error of the inning for Lynn, and Kidd came into score on the play. Jon Carnahan then brought home Kakwitch with a base hit. The run put the Statesmen up 4-2, which is where the score remained for rest of the game.

Cullen Babin (1-0) picked up the win for the Statesmen. Babin pitched 2 innings out of the bullpen, and allowed no runs on two hits. Brandon Hardin (1) closed out the game in the ninth inning for the Statesmen, and picked up his first save of the season. Josh Branstetter started the game for the Statesmen, and pitched 6 innings in a no decision. Branstetter allowed two run with only one being earned, and he struck out seven while walking only one batter.

Shawn Kale started the game for Lynn, and pitched 7 innings while recording no decision. Kale gave up two earned runs on six hits, and also struck out eight. Andre Colon (0-1) suffered the loss. Colon pitched 1 inning, and gave up two runs.

Game two was another back and forth affair, as Lynn jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. The Statesmen came back in the third inning, to cut the deficit to just 2-1. A Kakwitch base hit brought in Chovanec to score in the inning.

The Statesmen took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Chovanec reached base on a single, and advanced to second on an errant throw. After Josh Crowdus was hit by a pitch, Kidd doubled to score Chovanec. Crowdus later scored in the inning on another error by the Knights. The runs put the Statesmen up 3-2.

The Knights came right back in the top of the sixth inning, and tied the game up at 3-3. Cory Elasik doubled to start the inning. Elasik was brought home on a single by Jason Matusik.
The game was still tied at three through the scheduled seven innings, as extra innings were needed to decide a winner.

In the top of the ninth, Alex Bello scored on a base hit by Mike Diorio. The run put the Knights up 4-3, as it looked like Lynn was poised to gain a victory.

As has been the case so far this season, the Statesmen offense can come through when their backs are to the wall. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and two outs, Ben Kingsley stepped to the plate. On a 3-2 pitch, Kingsley drove the ball into left field that brought home Kidd and Hunter Twitty. The runs gave the Statesmen the 5-4 victory, as the squad won both games on Saturday.

James Hudelson (1-0) picked up the win for the Statesmen. Hudelson threw 3 innings in relief, and allowed one run on three hits. Hudelson also made a couple of plays in the field to help the Statesmen get the win. Colton Mitchell started the game for the Statesmen and pitched 6 innings. Mitchell gave up three runs on nine hits, and struck out six in the no decision.

Jason Whalen (1-2) suffered the loss for the Knights. Ryan Gibbard started the game for the Knights and pitched 5.1 innings. Gibbard gave up three runs on five hits, and struck out four.

With the two wins the Statesmen improve their record to 5-0. Lynn fell to 7-3 with the two losses. The Statesmen and Knights close out their series on Sunday with a day game. First pitch is set for 12 p.m., and you can catch the action on the Statesmen Sports Network.