JOES Sweep Bay College
Improve to 13-16 on the season
Wickes Park – Jack Rossbach was seeking redemption on Monday and the freshman righty from Howell got it. After struggling on the hill in Florida earlier in the season he hadn't seen the mound for Delta and against Bay College he got the opportunity to prove that he was better than he showed previously. In throwing six innings and giving up one earned run, its safe to say that he belongs on the bump as Delta defeated the Norse 3-1 in game one before another stellar pitching performance in the nightcap secured the sweep with an 8-0 victory.
"I was looking to get back to the way I threw this summer," said Rossbach who limited Bay College to three hits in the game. "I wanted to prove to the guys that I belong here and I can help us win."
With the score still 0-0 after two and a half innings, Andrew Gauthier launched the first pitch he saw over the 355 mark in right-center to give Delta a 1-0 lead. It was Gauthier's first collegiate homerun and was a 'no-doubter' the instant it left his bat. DC tacked on a another run in the fourth and a single run in the fifth for a 3-0 heading in to the seventh inning.
Back to back walks and two wild pitches ended the day for Rossbach, but redshirt freshman Alex Dingee was ready to perform as well having come off a back injury that sidelined him for over a week. A groundout to first and back to back strikeouts secured the 3-1 win for Delta and gave Dingee his first save of the season.
Game two was almost a perfect copy of game one as Alex Snider took the hill for the Pioneers and dominated the Bay College bats for the first three innings. Delta got on the board in the bottom of the third as Matt Firsher walked and went to third on a Carson Longstreth double. Fisher would then score on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead.
Snider got in trouble in the fourth as the first two Norse hitters reached on a double and a walk but when Snider picked the runner off of second and Drew Long hosed the would be base stealer two pitches later, the threat was over and the score remained 1-0. It was the first time – and last – that Snider would get in trouble as he faced the minimum number of hitters from there.
A single run in the fourth made it 2-0 before Delta collected six runs in the sixth to take an 8-0 lead. Four Delta hitters collected singles in the inning while Jackson Lund added a two-RBI double.
Snider collected the complete game win to improve to 2-3 on the year, striking out six and allowing no runs on seven hits. Cam Floyd (two hits, run) and Longstreth (single, double, RBI, run) led the offense.
Delta is now 13-16 on the season and have won six of their last eight games. They will head to Macomb on Friday for a MCCAA East contest with the Monarchs before hosting games three and four on Saturday at Wickes Park.