Pitching and defense has been a consistent force for the Wilmington College baseball team, and Sunday was no different. Hits in key situations joined the fray Sunday as the Fightin' Quakers nearly swept an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader with Capital at Tewksbury-Delaney Field.
Wilmington scored two in the eighth and one in the ninth to pull out the 4-3 victory in the opener, and had the tying run thrown out at the plate in a 4-3 loss in the nightcap.
Sophomore Cole Voltz (Mt. Sterling, OH/Madison Plains) got the no decision, but pitched well over seven innings. He yielded three runs, two earned, on nine hits with three strikeouts. Sophomore Billy Foster (Xenia, OH/Xenia) earned the victory (1-1), giving up just one hit in two innings of action.
Not only did Voltz do damage with his arm, his bat joined the party as well. Trailing 1-0 in the fifth inning, Voltz picked an opportune time for his first career hit – a solo homerun.
Capital added single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to take a 3-1 lead.
Sophomore Tyler Schrock (Waynesville, OH/Waynesville) started the eighth with a single, and moved to third on a double by sophomore Clay Cleaver (Pleasant Plain, OH/Little Miami). Senior Brandon Arehart (Wilmington, OH/Wilmington) was hit to load the bases with no outs.
Junior Roenick Whitney (Goshen, OH/Goshen) brought home a run with a sacrifice fly, and Cleaver came around to score the tying run on a throwing error by the right fielder.
Wilmington continued to take advantage of some Crusader miscues in the ninth. Junior Dan Conroy (Columbus, OH/Centennial) began the inning with a single, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Alek Hutzelman (Centerville, OH/Centerville).
Schrock hit liner that was nabbed by the first baseman, but his throw missed the mark, and Conroy scampered home with the winning tally.
Capital took the lead in the nightcap with three runs on the top of the third inning, and then added a single run in the fifth. From there, four relievers – Samuel Cranor (Cincinnati, OH/LaSalle), Austin Merkle (Wilmington, OH/Clinton-Massie), Luke Matthews (Centerville, OH/Centerville) and Foster – combined to keep the Crusaders off the board.
Sophomore Max Ramsey (Waynesville, OH/Waynesville) smacked a two-out, two-run single to pull Wilmington to 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Fightin' Quakers fought back in the ninth as singles by Hutzelman and Corey Walker (Hillsboro, OH/Hillsboro), along with a wild pitch, gave WC runners on second and third with one out.
Hutzelman scored on a throwing error, and Walker moved to third. Schrock hit a shallow fly to right field for the second out, and Walker was thrown out at home to end the game.
Cleaver (0-5) took the loss, allowing four earned runs on five hits with three walks.
Wilmington (2-16 overall, 1-5 OAC) travels to Muskingum for a OAC doubleheader 1 p.m. Wednesday.
