ALMA, Mich. – The Trine University baseball team fought valiantly but came out on the wrong end of a walk-off error for the Alma College Scots to lose 5-4. Trine drops to 10-23 overall and 2-14 inside the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). Alma improves their record to 22-13 and 11-5 in conference play.

Three hits in the first for the Scots allowed the home team to jump out to a 1-0 lead. However, from that point on starting pitcher Reid Courtwright settled in nicely and tossed four shutout innings to keep Alma within arm's reach. The freshman southpaw peppered the strike zone as 53 of his 68 pitches were strikes. He struck out a team-high four batters and allowed just one run on five hits and a walk.

The first Thunder hit came off the bat of Joel Walton in the fifth inning. Brody Bond was hit by a pitch as the next man up, but two were left stranded in the frame as the shutout continued. Luke Burford and Daniel Rumberger added singles in the sixth, but once again could not push across a run.

Three consecutive hits for Trine with two outs in the seventh gave the team their first lead of the day at 2-1. Easton Rhodes, a man returning from injury on Friday, singled to right field followed by a triple from Cole Temple and an RBI base knock by Nathan Gilmet.

After a scoreless inning of relief by Owen Mitchell, the Scots would get to Jack Villarreal and touch him up for three runs to retake the lead at 4-2. Not to be outdone, the Thunder drew back to even at 4-4 thanks to back-to-back run-scoring singles from Walton and Bond in the top of the eighth. After struggling in the seventh, Villarreal would rebound for a zero in the eighth inning to keep the game knotted up at four apiece.

Alma would put traffic on the basepaths with a single and walk, but it was a misplay in the field that led to the Scots victory 5-4. The unearned run was charged to the reliever Noah Brettin (2-3) in the loss. Walton was the only man with a multi-hit game while Burford reached base twice with a hit and walk.

The Thunder and Scots continue their three-game series on Saturday, April 27 at home starting at 1 p.m. for a doubleheader.