by Mackenzie McMahon

A high-scoring, seven total home run game for the Hope College baseball team closed out with a comeback victory on the road for the orange and blue on Friday. 

The Flying Dutch went down 7-2 by the top of the 6th inning. That's when the rally caps came on, and sophomore Robbie Stuursma (Grand Rapids, Michigan / East Grand Rapids HS) would begin the climb back up against Franklin as he sent a home run soaring out of the park to make it 7-3. 

The Stuursma home run was followed by an Evan Maday triple, which would send Spencer Cable, pictured right, in to score, a Kainan Bayn (Zeeland, Michigan / Zeeland East) RBI single, and a Nolan Gardner double. Gardner's double tallied two runs for Hope College, and just like that, it was 7-7. The Flying Dutch would take the lead as Andrew Gilpin would grab a single on an error, allowing Gardner to touch home for the go-ahead run. Hope's six run inning in the top of the 6th was capped off with a Caleb Regan (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Byron Center) homer that gave him two RBIs and made it 10-7 with three and a half innings left. 

Franklin popped two home runs off, back-to-back, in the bottom of the 6th to regain momentum and made it a one run game at 10-9. The Grizzlies would find an RBI off of a single that tied the game to finish the sixth inning. 

A three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh put Franklin up by three, but Hope College doubled down and climbed back for a second time. Maday, a senior from Grand Rapids, Michigan (East Kentwood) singled in the top of the ninth to send home Cable, and Gilpin (Brighton, Michigan / Brighton) would send in the game-winning runs with a 3 RBI double as Gardner, Maday and sophomore Andrew Pickett (Carmel, Indiana / Brebeuf Jesuit Prep) would all score for a 14-13 final as Mason Belmore , pictured left, sent out five strikeouts against seven batters to close out the game. 

Cable (Hudsonville, Michigan / Hudsonville) would end the win with three runs and four hits, Maday grabbed four hits and had two runs. Gardner (Grand Rapids, Michigan / East Grand Rapids) had two hits, two RBIs during four at-bats and scored three runs, Gilpin snagged four RBIs in four at-bats, while Regan put up two hits, with one home run, scored a single run, and had two RBIs in six at-bats. 

Brant Kym (Libertyville, Illinois / Libertyville), Cable, Maday (2), and Gardener (2) all recorded stolen bases in the comeback victory for Hope College. 

On the mound for the Flying Dutchmen, senior Sean Hoey (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) saw four innings and had five strikeouts against 22 batters. Reece Crabtree, Dane Martin, and Branden Rosenfeld all saw time on the mound for one inning. Crabtree (Reynoldsburg, Ohio / Reynoldsburg) sent out two batters by strikeout and had 43 pitches with 26 strikes, Martin (New Baltimore, Michigan / L'Anse Creuse North) had a single strikeout against 7 batters with 19 strikes, and Rosenfeld (Carmel, Indiana / Carmel) picked up a single strikeout after facing 8 batters and fired off 16 strikes on 28 pitches. Belmore (Battle Creek, Michigan / Lakeview) tallied the win for Hope College after two innings, five strikeouts against seven batters and the freshman had 21 strikes with 26 pitches. 

Hope College baseball takes the field again on Saturday, March 5 for two more games against Franklin College, 12 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. start times.