ADA, Ohio - The Wilmington College baseball team split a high-scoring Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) twinbill at Ohio Northern University (ONU) on Sunday, winning game one 15-11 and falling in game two 17-7.
In game one, Caleb Scott gave the Fightin' Quakers a 3-1 lead with his sixth home run of the season scoring both Zach Christensen and Jared Lammert. Tyler Shaneyfelt would make it a 4-1 with a two-out, RBI-single in the fourth, but the sophomore would be thrown out trying to extent the hit into a double. The Polar Bears wouldn't trail for long, however, as ONU tied the game with a four-hit, three-run bottom of the fourth.
The fifth inning would prove to be the difference in game one as Wilmington sent 15 runners to the plate. Christensen opened the inning with an infield single, and after Lammert and Scott both walked, Dominic Depa plated two runs with a single through the left side. Aaron Burns was hit by a pitch to load the bases again, and Noah Martin tallied an RBI by drawing another walk. A strikeout followed, but the Quakers then strung together four consecutive RBI-singles from Evan Kelsey, Shaneyfelt, Christiansen and Lammert. A hit by pitch and a wild pitch would score the final two runs of the frame. In total, Wilmington plated nine runs on six hits and led 13-4.
ONU didn't go away, however, as the hosts scored three runs in the fifth, one in the sixth and three in the seventh that included two solo home runs to pull within a pair at 13-11. Shaneyfelt, who relieved starter Aaron Boster in the sixth, wouldn't allow a runner into scoring position over the final two innings. Additionally, the Quakers would add two insurance runs in the top of the ninth.
Boster won his fifth game of the season despite allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Shaneyfelt notched his first save by allowing two earned runs on two hits in the final 3.2 innings. ONU used five pitchers in game one, and four of those five surrendered runs. Starter Blake Peterson fell to 0-3 allowing six earned runs on five hits in four innings. Joe Tootle was the lone Polar Bear to not surrender a run as he allowed one hit and recorded two outs.
Wilmington pounded out a dozen hits in game one with half of them coming from the top two in the order. Shaneyfelt went 2-for-6 with two RBIs while Christensen had a 4-for-6 game with three runs scored and two stolen bases. Scott hit the home run and drove in four while Depa went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. The Quakers also drew a dozen walks. Chayten Overholt led ONU in defeat going 4-for-5 with a double, two home runs, five RBIs and three runs scored.
In the nightcap, it was ONU that had the big inning, and it came right away as the Polar Bears tagged WC starter Luke Chappie with five runs on six hits in the first inning. The hosts would plate at least a run in all but the fifth inning including scoring multiple runs in five of the eight innings ONU batted.
Wilmington, which scored its first two runs on a two-run bomb from Burns, his team-leading seventh of the season, in the fourth, pulled within five (12-7) with a five-run seventh inning, but ONU scored two in the bottom half and added three more in the eighth to pull away.
Tim Knapschaefer won his fifth game of the year for the Polar Bears, tallying eight strikeouts and allowing six earned runs on 10 hits in six innings. Chappie fell to 2-4 for WC by allowing eight earned runs on 10 hits in 2.2 innings.
Christiansen and Burns led the Quakers offensively in game two as both finished 3-for-5 on the day. Five Polar Bears had multi-hit games with Overholt leading the bunch once again, going 4-for-6 with four RBIs and three runs scored.
Wilmington finished its 2022 season with a 21-19 overall record including an 8-10 mark in OAC play, good for sixth place in the league. Both are program bests since the Quakers went 22-15 overall, 11-7 in OAC games and tied for third in the conference in 2005.
