(RICHMOND, Ind.) – The Wilmington College baseball team held off a late comeback attempt from Earlham College in the final game of the Quaker Bowl for the 2023-24 academic year, winning the game 9-7.
The Quakers held an 8-3 lead heading into the eighth inning before Earlham plated four runs over the final two frames, but Wilmington shut the door in the ninth. The Quakers are now 6-28 overall this season heading into their final games of the season Saturday against Otterbein.
After two outs in the first three batters, Wilmington had some two-out magic in the top of the first inning. A Carter Scheben walk put runners at first and second before Kyle Jennings roped a two-run double to left field to give the Quakers a 2-0 lead. Earlham tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the first.
The Quakers got a leadoff double in the second from Jay Utterdyke, who would later score in the inning on a groundout to give Wilmington a 3-2 lead.
Wilmington headed into the top of the fifth frame with their 3-2 advantage, before striking for five more runs. They took advantage of a pair of Earlham errors in the inning, where they struck out twice but got on base due to a throwing error by the catcher. Scheben, JP Donelan, J.C. Calhoun, and Dylan Montgomery all had RBI base hits in the inning for an 8-2 lead.
The Quakers picked up their final run of the game in the eighth on a Scheben single through the left side of the infield.
Earlham cut the lead to 9-6 heading into the bottom of the ninth. They loaded the bases with no one out in the ninth and forced a pitching change for Wilmington. Trent Mendenhall came in and allowed a sacrifice fly to make it 9-7 before getting a pop out. He then struck out the final hitter for the save and the win.
Notables
- Carter Scheben finished the game 4-4 with a pair of runs batted in (RBI) and a walk.
- JP Donelan and Jay Utterdyke both had two hits.
- Kyle Jennings had two RBI.
- Evan Kelsey, Scheben, and Utterdyke all scored two runs in the game.
- Hayden Wibbeler earned the first win of his collegiate career after pitching five innings, allowing two runs, and striking out four hitters.
- Trent Mendenhall earned his first save of the season after shutting the door in the ninth with one strikeout.
What's Up Next
Wilmington concludes their season Saturday afternoon at home against the Otterbein University Cardinals in a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 P.M.
