WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College baseball team doubled its Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) wins total with a sweep of Capital University at Tewksbury-Delaney Field on Wednesday. WC took game one 12-6 and won the nightcap 12-2.
In game one, the Quakers took advantage of a Comet error to plate the game's first run as Dominic Depa singled home Owen Baumann. Capital wouldn't trail long, however, as EJ Santana lifted a three-run home run over the left field fence.
Neither starting pitcher made it past the second inning as Kaleb Stines was relied by Trent Mendenhall in the second and Clark Curtis made it one out and departed after being hit by a line drive. In the bottom of the third, WC flipped a two-run deficit into a one-run lead by plating three runs on three hits. Jared Lammert and Evan Eilerman hit RBI-single with Caleb Scott doubling to left scoring Lammert.
Capital tied the game with a run in the top of the fourth, but the hosts added three more in the bottom half of the inning to take a 7-4 lead. Evan Kelsey hit a one-out single, and after a stolen base, scored as Tyler Shaneyfelt tripled. Baumann scored Shaneyfelt on the next at bat with a groundout to second, and Scott delivered his second RBI-hit for the final run of the inning.
A scoreless fifth inning for both teams followed, but Wilmington pitcher Austin Christman, who relieved Mendenhall to begin the sixth, ran into trouble. Thanks to a walk, two hit batters and a wild pitch, Capital scored two runs without a hit. Jesse Reliford, who started as the designated hitter, entered in to pitch after the first two batters reached base and prevented further damage with a strikeout. The Quakers got an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning as Shaneyfelt reached base on a bunt single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on an RBI-single from Lammert.
The hosts gave Reliford some more support with four runs on four hits in the seventh, and the junior earned his fourth save of the season by pitching the final four innings effectively.
Mendenhall improved to 3-5 on the season pitching 2.2 innings in relief and allowing one earned run. Reliford struck out three with two walks over the final four innings for WC. Kyle Bowles lost his fourth game of the season for Capital, allowing seven runs (five earned) on nine hits in 3.2 innings.
Offensively, the Quakers doubled up the Comets in hits 16-8 and also successfully stole five bases. Lammert finished 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored while Scott was 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Shaneyfelt reached base four times (two hits and two walks) and scored four runs. EJ Santana led Capital in defeat with two hits including the three-run home run in the first.
In the nightcap, freshman Zach Shepherd went the distance, earning his first complete game. The Southport High School alumnus threw 119 pitches, 83 of them for strikes, and scattered eight hits and a walk over the game with eight strikeouts. His offense scored a single run in both the first and third inning off the bat of Dominic Depa. The sophomore singled through the left side in the first and reached on a fielder's choice in the third.
The Quakers opened things up in the middle innings, plating three runs on three hits both the fourth and fifth innings. The Comets tagged Shepherd with a single run on a triple and sacrifice fly in the fifth and added one more in the eighth, but that would be it. WC put a stamp on things in the bottom of the eighth by scoring three more runs on two hits and an error.
Tyler Sickles took the loss for Capital, allowing three earned runs on four hits with three walks in the first three innings. The Comets used five pitchers in total in the game with Spencer Knight being the only one to not allow a run. The visitors' staff also hit six Quakers in the defeat.
Wilmington had 11 hits in game two with the bottom two in the order - Jacob Feltner and Evan Kelsey - providing five of them. Scott and Depa also had multi-hit games with Baumann joining Depa in driving in three runs each. Ryne McKinney went 2-for-3 for Capital.
Wilmington (13-18, 3-9 OAC) heads to The University of Mount Union for an OAC series beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
