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MASON, Ohio (May 6) – Despite a strong outing from freshman Dolan Kunkel (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Centennial Collegiate), the Tigers were defeated 7-3 by Trevecca Nazarene Wednesday evening in an opening round game in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Tournament at Prasco Park.
 
The loss drops the No. 6 seeded Salem International baseball team to 9-40 overall this season. The Tigers will meet No. 2 seed Alderson Broaddus, who was upset by No. 5 Ohio Valley, in an elimination game tomorrow, Thursday, May 7 at 12 p.m. Meanwhile, the top seeded Trojans improve to 33-18 overall and advance into the winner's bracket.
 
Salem International struck first in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. Junior catcher Rahul Badve (Mississauga, Ontario/Woodlands Secondary) drew a two-out walk and classmate Cody Whitmer (Elmira, N.Y./Elmira Free Academy) followed with a base-hit to move Badve into scoring position. Junior Hunter Williams (Gunter, Texas/Gunter) then took the first pitch he saw and roped it up the middle to give the Tigers the lead.
 
Trevecca rallied back with four runs in the bottom half of the frame. Despite only two hits in the inning, the Trojans were aided by two errors, a hit batter and a walk to take a 4-1 lead.
 
The Tigers were limited to one base-hit over the next three innings, but a leadoff double by junior Anthony Bariso (Tarpon Springs, Fla./Tarpon Springs) in the sixth sparked a run-scoring frame. Bariso advanced to third and scored on a pair of groundouts to the second baseman to trim the Trevecca margin to 4-2 after five and a half played.
 

 
The Trojans took advantage of another Tiger miscue in the bottom half of the sixth to rebuilt their lead back to three, 5-2, before Salem International answered right back in the seventh inning. Senior shortstop Manny Dominguez (Bronx, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics) gave the Tigers back-to-back innings with leadoff doubles and scored on a wild pitch to bring the team back within two runs at 5-3.
 
As was the case in each inning Salem International scored, Trevecca responded with runs of its own. The Trojans led-off with back-to-back singles and chased Kunkel from the game after an RBI fielder's choice. Trevecca added another run to take a 7-3 lead and held Salem International to one hit over the final two innings to earn the victory.
 
Kunkel (3-10) allowed seven runs (three earned) on eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks over 6.1 innings of work (106 pitches) against the G-MAC's most potent offense. Trevecca's Zach Smith improved to 1-1 after holding the Tigers to three runs on seven hits with nine strikeouts and one walk in 7.0 innings on the bump (95 pitches).
 
Whitmer and junior left fielder Nicco Lollio (Carleton, Mich./Airport) led the team with two hits apiece, while Williams and junior centerfielder Joe Drago (Albany, Ind./Delta) each chipped in RBIs in the loss.
 
Trevecca's Hunter Newman, the G-MAC Hitter of the Year, led the Trojans with three hits. Six different Trevecca hitters delivered RBI hits in the team's win.
 
Salem International will need to defeat Alderson Broaddus tomorrow, Thursday, May 7 to keep its season alive. The two teams will play at PRASCO Park with the first-pitch set for 12 p.m.
 
GAME NOTES: Freshman Kevin Ortiz-Arroyo (Orlando, Fla./Cypress Creek) and junior TJ Propp (Saginaw, Mich./Ansbach) combined to allow zero runs in 1.2 innings of relief of Kunkel to close out the game … Lollio was called out at second both times he reached on a hit. He was caught stealing in the second and doubled-off in the fourth … Alderson Broaddus battled back with a game-tying run in the ninth inning of its game with Ohio Valley, only to allow two runs in the 10th in the Battlers 3-1 loss … Alderson Broaddus won all six meetings with the Tigers this season, out-scoring Salem International 50-10 in those games … After losing to Trevecca in the opening round of their G-MAC Tournament, the Tiger softball team defeated Alderson Broaddus 10-8 in an elimination game. The Salem International softball team had previously lost all four of its regular season games against the Battlers.