Goodrich’s baseball team ran into some top-flight opposition at the Brandon Invitational May 3.
The Martians lost more games that day (two) than they had the entire season beforehand (one). In the first game of the day, the Martians dropped a 5-4 contest to Clarkston. Goodrich rebounded to win a 4-3 game against Holly, but dropped the consolation game 4-0 to Brandon.
The Martians are now 12-3 overall, although they still remain undefeated in the Genesee Athletic Conference at 9-0.
Goodrich started out strong against Clarkston, who made it to the Division 1 state semifinals last season. Max Bell drilled a three-run homer in the first inning to put the Martians up 3-0, and the Martians added another run in the top of the second. Clarkston scored their first run in the bottom of the second and added another in the bottom of the third to trip the Goodrich lead to 4-2.
That lead would last until the bottom of the sixth, when Clarkston added two more runs to tie things at four. The Wolves scored in the bottom of the seventh to pull out the win.
Bell suffered the loss on the mound, allowing eight hits and five runs (four earned) while striking out seven and walking one. He also went two-for-three with three RBI, while Kori Garman went two-for-two with one RBI.
‘That was a good game,? Goodrich coach Bob Foreback said. ‘Clarkston’s always a baseball powerhouse, so there’s nothing to be ashamed of.?
Although they faced an uphill battle in their second game against Holly, the Martians rallied for two runs in the bottom of the sixth to defeat the Bronchos.
Holly had taken the lead with two runs in the first and one in the second before the Martians rallied for one run each in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings. Garman pitched the final inning of the game and picked up the win in relief. McDonald went two-for-four to pace the Goodrich lineup.
The consolation game of the tournament was all Brandon, as the Martians could never get going offensively, dropping a 4-0 contest against the Blackhawks. Brent Koss was tagged with the loss for Goodrich.
In league competition, senior pitcher Michael McCormick continued his trend of pitching excellence May 1, recording his third consecutive shutout as the Martians defeated host Bentley 8-0.
McCormick handcuffed the Bentley lineup, striking out 14 while pitching to the minimum 21 batters. One Bentley player managed a single, but McCormick picked him off on the next pitch.
With two out in the bottom of the seventh, another Goodrich batter reached base on an error, but McCormick picked him off to end the game.
McCormick would get all the run support he needed in the second inning, when the Martians put across seven runs. McCormick helped his own cause by driving in two runs.
McDonald and Luke Seymour each went two-for-three with a run scored, while Koss went two-for-five.