Rough Weekend for ACC Baseball

Bay College only outscored ACC baseball, 15-14 in the four games played this weekend, but took three close games, 2-1, 2-0 and 6-2 before the Lumberjacks rallied to take the finale, 11-5.

Pitching was solid for the Jacks all weekend, with Max Coughlin the hard luck losing pitcher in the opener, giving up just two runs and striking out five in the six-inning complete game. Similarly, Grant Slater gave up only six hits, no walks and struck out four but got no hitting support and lost the nightcap on Friday. Kaleb Donajkowski threw 1.1 innings of hitless relief, striking out three in Saturday's opener, before ACC broke through to back Lane Gross for the finale win. Gross struck out six in five innings of work and yielded only two runs.

As a team for the weekend, the Lumberjacks batted only an uncharacteristic .206. Maxwell McCarty, Jake Zann and Aiden Bishop each had four hits to lead ACC. Nate Koster batted .300 for the weekend with a .462 OBA, two doubles and a team-high three runs scored. Zann also scored three runs and hit a home run in Saturday's nightcap.

Kaden Benaske also homered in the Jacks' victory and drove in three runs in the series. Brendan DiBartolomeo was 2 for 5 with a double and a team-leading five RBI. 

With the 1-3 weekend, ACC falls to 7-10 in the conference (11-24 overall), two games behind Bay who is now in second place in the league. The top two teams qualify for the post-season and Grand Rapids Community College is atop the standings with an 11-2 mark.

Next week, the Lumberjacks host Delta College (3-12, 8-20) on Thursday and Friday in a key series for ACC's playoff hopes.