The Western Michigan Christian baseball team opened its season on Wednesday with a non-conference road clash with Hudsonville Unity Christian.

The Warriors dropped the contest in a 10-3 loss to the Crusaders, but had plenty of bright spots to dwell upon.

Brant Zeerip led WMC at the plate with two hits and two RBIs, while Tyler VanBeek, Jamo Goorman, Cam Beisel and Nathan VanderWeide each had one hit.

“Today was our first game of the season, and we jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning,” said WMC head coach Chris VanHekken. “Things started to slip away from us after that, as we did not do a great job of throwing strikes consistently and walked too many batters.

“There were a lot of positives defensively, as we played very well in the field for our first game and competed until the last out. We are still really excited for what this season can bring for us, as we continue to work hard. This game will really help us continue to improve early in the season and pay dividends for us down the road.”

JUNIOR VARSITY: The Warriors lost to Hudsonville Unity Christian, 21 to 2.