ALLIANCE, Ohio - The Wilmington College baseball team had a ninth-inning rally fall short in an 8-6 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) defeat at the University of Mount Union on Sunday. The Purple Raiders also took the nightcap 14-7.
The first three innings of game one was a pitcher's duel as Jaired Lehman and Aaron Boster were scoreless through three innings. The Quakers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth as Evan Eilerman hit a deep fly ball to center field that scored Caleb Scott, who was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning. The Purple Raiders wouldn't trail long, however, scoring three runs on four hits in the bottom half of the fourth.
Carter Scheben led off the fifth with a double and scored the very next batter as Evan Kelsey hit an RBI-single to center. Zachary Mazza, Mount Union's leader in career home runs, got the run back with a solo shot in the bottom of the fifth and blew the game wide open with a grand slam in the sixth. Training 8-2, the Quakers strung together consecutive hits that included an RBI-single to right field from Dominic Depa to plate a run in the eighth.
Caleb Fugate entered the game on the mound for WC and stranded two runners in scoring position with out thanks to a strikeout and flyout to left. Kelsey led off the inning with a single, and after an out, the Quakers mounted a rally. Joel O'Brien singled to center field, and Jared Lammert drove home two with a double down the left field line. Scott then doubled to score Lammert, and Depa being hit by a pitch put the tying run on base. Unfortunately for the visitors, a 6-3 double play ended the game.
Boster dipped to 3-4 on the season with a nine-strikeout effort that also featured 10 hits and eight earned runs while Lehman threw 106 pitches in 8.1 innings to improve to 5-1 despite allowing 11 hits and five earned runs.
Wilmington held a 13-11 hits advantage with Depa going 3-for-4 with an RBI and the trio of Scott, Scheben and Kesley also recording multi-hit games. Mazza finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored, two home runs and five RBIs for Mount Union.
In game two, the Purple Raiders jumped on the Quakers for 10 runs in the first three innings as WC starter Jesse Reliford recorded just two outs. Wilmington added a run on a sacrifice fly in the third and two more (on another sacrifice fly and an RBI-single from Kelsey), but Mount Union got all three back with a three-run home run off the bat of Anthony Kemer in the fifth.
The Quakers would plate a run in the in the seventh and three more on four hits in the eighth, but couldn't overcome the double-digit deficit.
Leo Fornara improved to 6-1 on the season with a quality start of six innings and two earned runs with five hits and five walks. Reliford fell to 0-2 and was one of four Quakers to pitch. AJ Wolf was the lone individual to not surrender an earned run, pitching 2.2 innings with a strikeout.
Eric Schilling finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs for Mount Union while Kemer had the home run. For Wilmington, Owen Baumann finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs.
Wilmington will open up a busy week with non-conference games against Berea College at Mount St. Joseph University on Tuesday & Wednesday respectively.
