Delta Splits with KVCC

Auburndale, Florida – The Delta College baseball team was back in action on Wednesday after taking an off day on Tuesday during their annual spring break games in Florida.  The Pioneers played MCCAA Western Division foe Kalamazoo Valley Community College, a team they last saw when they knocked the Cougars out of the regional tournament in 2016.  Delta beat them once again in game one of a double-header Wednesday in convincing fashion, before dropping the nightcap 10-5.  The split leave DC with a 5-3 record on the season.

Sophomore Justin Jurek took the mound for Delta in game one, throwing six innings while allowing two earned runs on seven hits to pick up his second win of the season.  He struck out five and walked just one hitter in the effort. 

Delta struck first in the top of the first as Zack Booth scored on a Z Westley double, Brady Leppek came home on a Dean Marais sac fly and Westley scored on a Ty Robbins ground out.  The Pioneers pushed the lead to 5-0 in the second when Gran Slomkowski and Booth both scored on a two-out Leppek double. 

KVCC cut the lead to 5-2 heading in to the fourth inning where DC would tack on a run with a Justin Heinlein suicide squeeze that scored Cheyne Maier.  With the score 7-4 in the top of the seventh, the Delta offense exploded for seven runs, six of which were driven home off the bats of Slomkowski, Booth and Hunter David. 

Dart Booth threw a scoreless seventh for Delta.

The second game saw KVCC take an early 3-0 lead off of DC starting pitcher Trace Painter before the Pioneers could answer with a run of their own. That would occur in the bottom of the fourth inning when Ty Robbins would score from first on a Hunter David double.  Delta made it a one run game in the fifth as Justin Heinlein laced a one-out double down the left field line and later scored on a Leppek fly ball. 

The Cougars responded with two runs of their own to up the lead to 5-2 in the sixth but Delta responded once again to make the score 5-4 heading in to the final frame.  It wasn't meant to be, however, as five walks and an error led to five KVCC runs and put the game out of reach.

Delta was led offensively by Zach Booth and Hunter David, each with two hits.  Painter took the loss on the hill.

"We really played well today," said head coach Danny Smith.  "Out of 14 innings, we had one inning really bite us but other than that, we played extremely well."

Delta faces off against the Academy of Baseball Canada tomorrow at 10am before playing St. Cloud Technical Community College at 3pm.

"The St Cloud game is one of those games we circled a long time ago," said Smith.  "They are ranked #11 in the country and spend every other year in the world series so it's important for us to see how we match up with other division three JUCO's out there."