On Thursday, May 16, the Grand Rapids Community College baseball team faced the Jackson College Jets in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 12 Tournament, defeating them 7-2 in nine innings at Jets Field in Summit Township.
In the bottom of the third inning, GRCC sophomore center fielder Trevin Laming hit a solo home run, 1-0 Raiders.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, sophomore designated hitter Dylan Nguyen singled up the middle, scoring Laming from third base, 2-0 Raiders.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Laming hit a sacrifice fly toward second base, freshman second baseman Austin Gates advanced to second on a throwing error by the Jets’ second baseman, freshman third baseman Xavier Allen advanced to third, freshman left fielder Ty Sandwick scored from third base, 3-0 Raiders.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, freshman first baseman Jacob Pitt hit a two-run home run to left center field, scoring Nguyen from first base, 4-0 Raiders. Then, catcher Joey Hysell hit a solo home run to left field center field, 5-0 Raiders. Gates then reached first base on a throwing error by the Jets’ third baseman, Gates advanced to second, scoring Allen from second base, 7-0 Raiders.
In the top of the ninth inning, JC freshman left fielder Mitchell Smith singled down the right field line, and sophomore right fielder Derek Tomalak advanced to third, scoring freshman third baseman Maxwell Bowers from second base, 1-7 Jets. Smith then advanced to second on a wild pitch, scoring Tomalak from third base, 2-7 Jets.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Lucas McKinney got the start for the Raiders, improving to 9-1 on the season, throwing seven innings and three strikeouts, and giving up no runs on five hits and four walks.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Walker Brodie came in relief for McKinney in the eighth inning, throwing two innings and one strikeout, and giving up two runs on three hits, one walk and no home runs.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Sammy Bronkema got the start for the Jets, falling to 3-2 on the season, throwing six innings and four strikeouts, and giving up three runs on seven hits, two walks and one home run.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Logan Hunt came in relief for Bronkema in the seventh inning, throwing 0.2 innings and throwing no strikeouts, and giving up three runs on two hits, no walks, and two home runs.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Caleb Niese came in relief for Hunt in the seventh inning, throwing 1.1 innings and no strikeouts, and giving up one run on one hit, no walks and no home runs.
Up next in the semifinals of the NJCAA Region 12 Tournament, GRCC will face the Bruins of Kellogg Community College on Friday, May 17 at 1 p.m. in Jackson.
