WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College baseball team nearly split a doubleheader with Baldwin Wallace University (BW) by scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth, but the Yellow Jackets eventually took game one 6-4 in 12 innings and won game two 15-1 in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) doubleheader at Tewksbury-Delaney Field on Saturday.
In game one, neither team scored through three innings until Alex Ludwick delivered an RBI-single in the fourth. Two innings later, Ludwick doubled the visitors' lead with an RBI-double to left field. In the bottom of the inning, Kyle Noble led off with a single and advanced to second when Antonio Miller was hit by a pitch. Unfortunately for the Quakers, a foul out and a fielder's choice ended the theat.
BW doubled its lead with two runs in the top of the seventh, but Wilmington would mount a rally beginning with Shane Hale scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth. After a three-up, three-down top of the ninth, Gage Bley led off the bottom of the inning with a double and the Quakers trailing 4-1. Joe Legin reached base via a hit by pitch and a Kasey Bottorff single, aided by a Yellow Jacket fielding error, plated Bley. An Aaron Burns singled loaded the bases and Noble delivered the game-tying hit, a single to right field, that scored both Bottorff and Legin.
With the game tied and runners on first and second, BW extended the game to extra innings with a flyout and a strike out. Neither team threatened to score in the 10th, and after a 1-2-3 top of the 11th, Jake Hyatt doubled to lead off the bottom half. The Quakers couldn't get the runner home, however, as a failed sacrifice bunt followed by two strikeouts ended the inning.
Starter Jared Ferenchak, who pitched into the 12th inning, was pulled after a lead-off walk. Bottorff connected with Burns to throw out that runner, but reliever Jarett Trautman surrendered two hits after hitting a batter that proved to be the game-winning runs.
Ferenchak received a no decision despite scattering nine hits with four strikeouts in 11 innings pitched. Trautman dipped to 1-6 allow two earned runs in one third of an inning pitched. Danny Cody earned the win for BW in relief as he pitched two innings of near-perfect baseball while Garrett Miller logged the second save of his season.
In game two, BW's offense put together 22 hits and plated 15 runs including five off Wilmington starter Jacob Griehwahn and 10 off Quaker relief pitching. Wilmington scored its lone run in the second inning on an RBI-groundout from Burns that scored Bottorff.
Nick Smith earned his first win of the season for the Yellow Jackets allowing the one earned run on four hits in six innings pitched. The top of BW's offense tallied 13 hits including a 4-for-6 performance with four RBIs and three runs scored from Philip Wells. Bley was the lone Quaker to tally a multi-hit game.
The Quakers (6-17, 2-4 OAC) travel to defending OAC champions Otterbein University on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
