PHILIPPI, W.Va. (March 26) – The Tigers were dealt a four-game sweep by Alderson Broaddus to open Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play Friday and Saturday afternoons.
The Salem International University baseball team falls to 4-19 overall, 0-4 in league play. Meanwhile, the Battlers improve to 4-0 in the G-MAC, 12-9 overall.
GAME 1: Alderson Broaddus 16, Salem International 2The Tigers hung with the Battlers in game one until a 14-run fifth inning put the game well out of reach Friday afternoon.
Trailing 1-0, Salem International yielded 14 runs on seven hits with the help of four errors in the fifth inning. Alderson Broaddus sent 20 batters to the dish in the inning, with two of the final three batters in the inning recording outs.
Senior
Colton Lankford (Rowlett, Texas/Rowlett) was tagged with the loss. Lankford (1-4) allowed four runs on four hits with two strikeouts and six walks over four innings on the mound.
Junior catcher
Sean Deviney (Lehigh Acres, Fla./Riverdale) led the Tigers at the plate with two hits.
GAME 2: Alderson Broaddus 5, Salem International 1The Battlers scored five-unanswered runs in a 5-1 win to earn a day one sweep of the Tigers Friday evening.
Senior second baseman
Jeff Apigo (Federal Way, Wash./Todd Beamer) smacked a solo home run in the fourth inning to give Salem International the lead, but the Tigers were only able to scatter two more hits over the final three innings against First Team All-G-MAC pitcher Randy Dobnak.
Meanwhile, Alderson Broaddus collected four in the fourth and one in the fifth to pick up the win.
Junior
Talon Kunkel (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Centennial Collegiate) fell to 1-4 overall this season after allowing five runs on seven hits, while matching a season-high with eight strikeouts over six innings on the mound.
GAME 3: Alderson Broaddus 13, Salem International 3The Battlers scored in four of the seven innings played to take game three 13-3 Saturday afternoon.
A two-RBI single by Apigo in the second gave the Tigers the first runs of the game, but 11 runs over the next three innings sent Alderson Broaddus out front. The Battlers added two more in the sixth to finalize the win.
Junior right fielder
Tanner Helms (Lake Charles, La./Sam Houston) led the Tigers with three hits and a run scored, while Kunkel drove in an RBI in the seventh.
Senior
Zack Skipper (Las Vegas, Nev./Faith Lutheran) was charged with the loss. Skipper (2-4) allowed eight runs on 11 hits over 2.2 innings of work.
GAME 4: Alderson Broaddus 14, Salem International 0The Tigers surrendered five errors in the final game of the series to allow the Battlers a 14-0 win and four-game series sweep Saturday afternoon.
Freshman shortstop
Cody Crawford (Jacksonville, Fla./Trinity Christian) led Salem International with two hits in the loss.
2015 All-G-MAC Freshman Team selection
Dolan Kunkel (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Centennial Collegiate) made his first start of the season, and second appearance, and allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits with three strikeouts to fall to 0-2 this season.
The Tigers remain on the road next weekend when they head to Owensboro, Kentucky to take on Kentucky Wesleyan for the first two of four games on April 1 at 1 p.m. (CT), 2 p.m. local.
