(PAINESVILLE, Ohio) — On Saturday, the Lake Erie College baseball team faced off with Ohio Valley in a doubleheader which also served as the team's final two games of the 2021 season. In the first game, which only went seven innings, the Storm won in dramatic, walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh, 2-1. Then, in the second game, Lake Erie coasted to a comfortable 9-2 victory to go out on a winning streak.

Game 1

In the first game of the day, senior Ryan Middendorf started for Lake Erie, in his final game for the Storm, just like many other seniors on the roster. And in his last appearance in the green and black, Middendorf had his best performance of the season, pitching the complete seven innings for Lake Erie while only giving up one run, six hits, and one walk, striking out five. Middendorf provided stability on the defensive side of the ball for the Storm, allowing the Lake Erie bats a chance to heat up.

The first run of the game was scored by Ohio Valley, on a solo home run down the right field line by Mason Lohr. But that would be all the scoring that the Scots did in this one. Lake Erie tied things up in the bottom of the sixth inning, when senior first baseman Corbin Paxton knocked an RBI single to right field. Then, in the bottom of the seventh inning, on a crazy play involving multiple throwing miscues by the Scots defense, Jesse Barrios was able to come home for the Storm, giving Lake Erie the victory, 2-1.

Game 2

Game 2 was much more one-sided than the previous affair, as the Storm jumped all over Scots starter David Tennis early on. Lake Erie scored seven total runs in the first two innings, thanks heavily to contributions from seniors Corbin Paxton, Jacob Lozinski, and Reed Collins, all of whom had RBI in that time (Lozinski's double to left center in the first actually plated two runners). Following that offensive attack by the Storm early, Tennis was removed for reliever Tyler Mondoux, who ended up going 5.1 innings and giving up two more runs. Jared Wilson would pitch the final inning for the Scots.

But Lake Erie saw much better results from its pitchers in this one. Senior lefthanded Ryan Lally, who started the game and gave up zero runs, pitched the first 3.2 innings, before handing things off to senior Chris Mutter. Mutter went 2.2 innings and then gave the ball to senior Mitch Sorensen, who pitched an additional 2.0 innings. Tristan Mayer came in for the final 0.2 innings.

Corbin Paxton had a great final game for Lake Erie, going 2-5 with a run and three RBI. Drew Donaldson went 2-4 with two runs and two RBI, and Jacob Lozinski also got two hits.

And thus, that ends the Storm's 2021 baseball season, with the team finishing with a record of 8-29. This signals the end of the line for several seniors, as well as head coach Gary Vaught, who will be retiring from coaching. But with lots of young talent still waiting in the wings on the roster, the future for the baseball team looks bright.