Adrian College baseball advances to regional final

MARIETTA, Ohio — Gage Ricker dealt, Lincoln Lipinski chewed up innings and the Adrian College baseball team tallied 14 runs and 21 hits as it eliminated Mary Washington, 5-1, and Case Western Reserve, 9-8, on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (27-20) got a complete game out of Ricker against Mary Washington as he gave up a run, on seven hits and a walk while striking out five.

Ricker didn't allow a base runner until the fourth inning.

"We went with the guy who has had great outings for us all year," said head coach Craig Rainey. "He hasn't been a starter, but one of the best guys out of the pen for us. He's a guy we can count on and he delivered in a big way."

With the Bulldogs needing to play five games in three days in order to win the regional and advance to the super regional, Ricker's performance was a major help in preserving innings for the bullpen.

Ricker certainly didn't expect to go nine innings Saturday afternoon, but the senior gave it all to push Adrian to another game.

"Seven is the longest I've gone," Ricker said. "Even at seven I can feel the elbow tighten up a bit."

While Ricker was getting done on the mound, his offense backed him. Edward Wagner hit a solo home run to make it 2-0 in the third inning before Easton Rogers added a 2-run home run in the sixth.

In Game 2, the Bulldogs went up against Case Western Reserve, which beat Adrian twice back in March.

Freshman and Onsted graduate Lincoln Lipinski got the start and gave Adrian six innings and gave up four runs, on four hits and two walks while striking out three.

Adrian began the game with a 4-run first inning and added another four in the third and a big insurance run in the fifth with a Jack Boike RBI single.

Ryan Davis picked up the save as he tossed 2.1 innings and gave up a run, on two hits and two walks while striking out five. Davis struck out the side in the eighth and then stranded runners on second and third.

"We have some guys left out there," Rainey said. "We have about four or five arms that have thrown quite a bit for us. We'll come out and give the guys the ball and see what they can do tomorrow."

Jakob Charles hit two doubles while Liken Hayward drove in two with a double while Rogers drove in a run with a double as well.

Adrian will get a rematch against Marietta for the championship, needing to win both games.

"We came here to try and get to Sunday and have a chance to win," Rainey said. "It was a fun day and guys played really hard."

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian College baseball advances to regional final