Diamond Hoppers Rally Past Beavers, 5–4, to Earn Doubleheader Split
UTICA, Mich. – The Eastside Diamond Hoppers (9-20) erased an early two-run deficit with a four-run third inning and then held off the Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers (16-12) for a 5–4 victory in Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader at UWM Field, earning a split of the twin bill.
Birmingham struck first with a run in the second inning before adding another in the third to take a 2–0 lead. The Beavers received RBI doubles from Chase Rodriguez and David Coppedge, while Amari Bartee, Derek Gellos, and Alec Gonzalez also collected hits in the contest.
Eastside responded with its biggest inning of the night in the bottom of the third. After putting runners on base, Justin Johnson delivered a two-out, two-run double to tie the game, Josh Burke followed with an RBI single, and Jordan Malott added a sacrifice fly to cap a four-run rally and give the Diamond Hoppers a 4–2 advantage.
The Beavers answered right back in the fourth. Gellos opened the inning with a triple before Rodriguez doubled home a run and Gonzalez later tied the game at 4–4 with an RBI single.
The tie didn’t last long, however, as Jarrett Chapman led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run, his first of the season, putting Eastside back in front for good at 5–4.
Both teams finished with seven hits. Coppedge paced Birmingham with a 2-for-3 performance, while Rodriguez, Bartee, Gellos, Gonzalez, and Sprockett each added a hit. For Eastside, Eli Watson collected two hits, while Kevon Jackson, Johnson, Josh Burke, Bailey Martin, and Chapman each recorded one hit. Johnson drove in two runs, and Chapman’s home run proved to be the game-winning swing.
After Birmingham chased starter Jyzri Mulholland in the fourth, reliever Alek Elges settled things down by tossing 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out two to earn the win. Birmingham’s Spencer Smith was charged with the loss after surrendering the go-ahead home run.
The Diamond Hoppers’ victory completed a split of Saturday’s doubleheader after Birmingham claimed Game 1 earlier in the evening.