WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College baseball team travels to Northeast Ohio for an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) series with the University of Mount Union on Sunday (note the day change). First pitch from Rafeld-Rogers Field is slated for 1 p.m.
The Teams: Wilmington and Mount Union. The Quakers enter the series 13-19 overall and 3-11 in league games, but riding a winning streak after a sweep of Capital University at Tewksbury-Delaney Field on Wednesday. The Purple Raiders stand at 19-11 overall and 7-5 in OAC contests having split a series with John Carroll University on the road on Wednesday.
The Coaches: Tony Vittorio, who formerly led the University of Dayton's baseball program for 18 seasons, is in his fifth season as Wilmington's head coach in 2023. He helped lead the Quakers to a 21-19 overall record last season. Paul Hesse, a 1982 Mount Union alumnus, has been the head baseball coach at his alma mater since 1997. He's led the Purple Raiders to over 550 victories during his tenure.
The Hitters: A trio of Quakers - Owen Baumann, Tyler Shaneyfelt and Evan Kelsey - hit over the .300 clip with Baumann leading the team at a .345 clip. Caleb Scott has driven in a team-best 25 runs while Shaneyfelt is closing in on single-season records in runs scored (46) and stolen bases (30). Zack Mazza is Mount Union's career home run leader and has hit five this season to go along with 33 RBIs. Eric Schilling has nine doubles with four triples and four home runs.
The Pitchers: A duo of lefties - Zach Shepherd and Aaron Boster - lead the WC pitching staff as both have ERAs under 4.10. Boster has pitched 53.1 innings with a 3-3 record and 59 strikeouts while Shepherd is coming off of a complete-game victory against Capital. In that game, the freshman allowed just two earned runs with eight strikeouts in the 119-pitch outing. A quartet of Purple Raiders - Leo Fornara, Brady Hansen, Jaired Lehman and Chris Phillips - have all pitched at least 40 innings. Fornara has a 1.45 ERA with 46 strikeouts and boasts a 5-1 record.
Series History: Since 2009, Wilmington is 3-27 against Mount Union. The Purple Raiders have won the last seven meetings. More information on the series history can be found by visiting the link above.
Social Media: Wilmington athletics is represented on Facebook (Wilmington College Athletics), Twitter (@DubCQuakers) and Instagram (@DubCQuakers). Follow all the happenings of Wilmington College on social media by using the hashtag "#WeAreDubC".
Coverage: Live statistics and live video of both contests will be available – visit the link above.
Up Next: Wilmington will host four games in the penultimate week of the season, beginning with Berea College at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
