RICHMOND, Indiana – Brian Pincura's two-run double in the bottom of the ninth capped a four-run rally by Earlham College baseball in a 6-5 walk-off win over Kalamazoo College, allowing the Quakers to take a split out of their doubleheader with the Hornets on Saturday at Sadler Stadium.

Kalamazoo won the first game, 5-3.

SCORE: G1 – Kalamazoo 5, Earlham 3 / G2 – Earlham 6, Kalamazoo 1
LOCATION: Richmond, Indiana – Sadler Stadium
RECORDS: Earlham 7-2 / Kalamazoo 4-2

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 1:

Kalamazoo took advantage of a lead-off triple to right field by Blake Bean to post a single run in the first inning, before Earlham took the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second on Jeordan Kuderer's two-run single into center field.

The Quakers extended their lead to 3-1 with a single run in the fifth on Pincura's sac fly that scored Isaiah Shake, who reached on a leadoff single.

K-zoo narrowed the gap with a run in the sixth, before putting up three runs in the eighth inning on three hits and a pair of Earlham errors.

Starter Joey Gerbus fanned four Hornet batters over six-and-two-thirds innings of work in a no-decision outing. Reliever Domanick Michael was charged with the loss after allowing three runs, only one of which was earned, over one-and-a-third innings on the mound.

Cameron McCabe stroked a pair of doubles for the Quakers in the loss. For Kalamazoo, Bean, Chase Coselman, and Zach Prystash each had two hits.

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 2

After three innings of scoreless baseball, Earlham broke the scoring drought with a single run in the fourth. Marc Gendreau reached on an error by the K-zoo catcher, eventually crossing on a Danny Dopp single to left field.

Kalamazoo responded with a five-run uprising in the top of the sixth. A bases-loaded walk issued to Noah Hecht got the Hornets on the scoreboard, and Amani Karim's triple to center scored three base runners to give Kalamazoo a 4-1 lead. Karim crossed on the next at-bat when pinch hitter Austin Duff laced a single into center field, extending the lead to 5-1.

The Quakers closed the gap to 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth when Dopp got aboard with a single and scored thanks to a pair of Kalamazoo errors.

Kalamazoo went to closer Doug Propson in the bottom of the ninth to complete the win, but things fell apart for the Hornets. Easton Embry reached on a fielding error at short, and pinch-runner James Grace advanced to second when Gendreau was hit by a pitch. Shake singled to load up the bases, and a bases-loaded walk issued to Dopp cut the Kalamazoo lead to 5-3 and chased Propson from the game. Austin Hatfield's base hit to the left side plated Gendreau to cut the K-zoo lead to 5-4, and Pincura completed the come-back with a double to left field that plated Dopp and Shake.

Dopp finished the day with two hits, two runs, and two runs batted in, while Pincura charted a pair of hits and two RBI.

Reliever Nick Carrizales came on to start the ninth and picked up the win with one strikeout and no hits. Starter Kyle Gorman struck out six Hornet batters and scattered three hits over his five-and-a-third innings of work.

NEXT UP:

Earlham will complete the three-game series with Kalamazoo on Sunday, March 7, with a single game starting at noon.