OSSINEKE, Mich. – The Bay College Norse Baseball team (12-11, 8-5 MCCAA) put together another strong conference weekend, taking three of four games from the Alpena Community College Lumberjacks (11-24, 7-10 MCCAA).

Bay was rebounding from a midweek non-conference doubleheader at Milwaukee Area Tech 24-15 which the Stormers took 12-3 and 10-6 and were forced to move their “home games” to Alpena due to poor field conditions at their home park.

The Norse got some strong pitching to keep the Lumberjack bats quiet through most of the series. In game one it was Cohen Thompson who set the tone. He scattered four hits in a complete game effort and gave up one earned run and a walk. He struck out four.

Meanwhile the Bay offense handed him an early lead. George Cooper , the reigning MCCAA Northern Conference Player of the Week, picked up where he left off the week before and grounded a single into center to drive in a run.

Bay left two on in the second, and three runners on in the fourth, before putting two on in the sixth with one out. Elian Tortoledo singled in a crucial insurance run, but a double play ended the rally, and the Norse clung to a two-run lead. Alpena put together their only real threat in the seventh, stringing together a one-out single, walk, and a hit by pitch to load the bases. A groundball to third brought a run home, but also gave Bay the second out, and the next batter would hit a routine groundball to short, ending the game.

Eight different hitters collected hits for the Norse and they played error-free baseball to back up the strong pitching performance by Thompson.

Maxwell McCarty and Brett Moroschan each had a pair of hits for the Lumberjacks.

Max Coughlin delivered a solid outing on the mound for Alpena, walking four and striking out five in six innings of work in the loss.

In game two the Norse would get on the board in the bottom of the third. Tortoledo and Shane Lievsay singled, allowing Michael Rey to pick up an RBI with a groundball to short.

Tortoledo led off the fifth with a double to center and scored on a Lievsay single, giving the Norse a two-run lead.

It was all that Lorenzo Feliciano needed. After back-to-back walks to start the game he would settle in and pitch a gem. The first was the only inning in which the Lumberjacks had multiple baserunners. Feliciano would not walk another batter and gave up just three hits. He struck out five in a complete game shutout victory.

Grant Slater was the victim of poor run support, as we would take the tough-luck loss giving up just six hits, walking none and striking out four.

Bay started off Saturday afternoon with a run in the bottom of the third. Austin Samanske drilled a double down the line to start the inning. Lievsay picked up an RBI in the very next at bat with a single to center.

This time the Lumberjacks would have an answer. Jake Zann hit the first pitch of the top of the fourth out to left field for a homerun to tie the game. A Moroschan single and Nate Koster double put runners on second and third, and a ground out put Alpena in the lead for the first time of the weekend.

The lead was short-lived as Bay’s Zach Gibson led off the bottom half of the inning with a double to left. Erik Johnson doubled with one out to drive in Gibson and would score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Tortoledo, giving Bay back the lead.

Lievsay helped add an insurance run in the fifth with an RBI double and would later score on a wild pitch, but would have to leave the game with an injury he suffered on the base paths.

Alpena was not able to get any kind of rally going, and the Norse won the game by a final of 6-2.

Cooper picked up the win in six innings of work. He scattered six hits and gave up two earned runs and walked one. He struck out three. Andres Franco struck out two as he worked a flawless seventh.

Lievsay was two for three with two RBI and a run scored.

McCarty picked up a pair of hits in four at bats.

Jacob Brohl took the loss for the Lumberjacks. Three of the six runs he gave up were earned. He gave up seven hits, walked one, and struck out three.

With Bay looking to sweep the series it was the Lumberjacks who got on the board first with a sacrifice fly in the second inning. The Norse responded immediately as Gibson hit a long triple to center to lead off the inning. Tortoledo picked up the RBI with a groundball to shortstop, tying the game.

The third inning was trouble for Bay. It was forced to shift plans with the injury in the first game and Franco, who finished the first game on the mound, started the second game. With one out Alpena got to him. A single and two walks loaded the bases, and a third consecutive walk gave Alpena back the lead. A pitching change got a groundball, but a throwing error kept the inning going and plated another run. A single and another groundout brought in two more, and suddenly the Norse were down 5-1.

A Kaden Benaske home run in the fifth made the deficit bigger for the Norse, but they put a pair of runners on to lead off the fifth. Cooper singled in a run and a Gibson base hit loaded the bases with one out. Bay missed a big opportunity to get back in the game, however and would not be able to bring anyone else home in the frame.

Leadoff singles in the sixth for Alpena sparked another rally. Three more hits and a walk put the Lumberjacks up by nine runs.

The Norse showed some fight. A two-run home run by Johnson in the sixth, and a solo home run by Gibson in the seventh cut into the deficit, but in the end it was too big of a hole for the Norse to dig out of, as they dropped the finale by a final score of 11-5.

Gibson had a great game at the plate, going three for three with an RBI, two runs scored, a triple and a homerun. Tortoledo picked up a pair of hits in four at bats and drove in one run.

Franco took the loss on the mound, as he went two and one-third. He gave up three hits, five runs, four of which were earned, and four walks. He struck out one.

Aiden Bishop had three hits for the Lumberjacks and drove in two. Zann was two for four with two runs scored. Koster and Brendan DiBartolomeo each picked up a pair of hits in three at bats.

Lane Gross went five innings for the win. He gave up seven hits, two runs, walked two, and struck out six.

With the Norse winning seven of their last eight conference games they find themselves in second place in the MCCAA Northern Conference, which is important as the top two teams in each division gets a bid in the Region 12 Tournament. They are scheduled to take on Grand Rapids Community College next who currently sits atop of the Northern Conference.

That four-game series is scheduled to be the home opener for the Norse, field conditions pending. Those games are scheduled for Thursday and Friday with first pitch on Thursday at 2 pm and on Friday at 1 pm.