Julie Kendall
Sports Editor
Wooster’s baseball team swept Hiram College in four games at Art Murray Field last weekend, boosting their season record to 19-7 and strengthening their grip on the first place standing in the NCAC East Division with a 7-1 conference record.
The Fighting Scots were an offensive powerhouse on Saturday, overwhelming the Terriers in game one with 21 hits and 19 RBIs en route to a 20-1 victory. After giving up a run in the top of the first inning, Wooster’s batters ignited and put three runs on the board to take an early lead. They continued to increase that margin with five runs in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings, capped off by a two-run sixth inning. Pitcher Keenan White ’13 earned his sixth win of the season by throwing a complete game, striking out 11 and allowing only seven hits.
Game two played out in a similar fashion, this time with Matt Felvey ’14 earning the win and improving his record to 2-2. Once again, the Terriers scored the first run in the top of the first, but the Scots responded quickly with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Wooster added four more runs over the next two innings, but really came alive in the sixth, when they strung together four consecutive extra-base hits to put the game out of Hiram’s reach. Ryan Miner ’13 started things off with a double, followed by a triple from Jerrod Mancine ’14, a double from John McLain ’15 and a two-run homer by Eddie Reese ’14. A bases-loaded RBI single from Frank Vance ’15 in the seventh secured the victory with a final score of 12-2.
The Scots’ momentum continued into Sunday where they won the first game with a 9-1 score. After climbing to a 2-1 lead over the first two-and-a-half innings, Wooster loaded the bases in the third inning with two walks and a single from Johnathan Ray ’13. On the next at bat, Cal Thomay ’14 sent the first pitch sailing just inside the left-field foul line for a grand slam, giving the Scots a five-run advantage. They would add three more unearned runs in the fifth inning. Steve Hagen ’14 earned the win, throwing a complete game to improve to 4-1. He allowed only five hits and tallied six strikeouts.
The series ended with another routing, this time with the Scots winning 13-2. Wooster got off to a quick start, tallying five runs in the second inning. With the bases loaded, Mancine drew a walk for the first score. Bryan Miller ’14 sent the next pitch to left-center for two RBIs, followed by another RBI single from Reese. The Scots recorded another unearned run on a muffed throw to gain a 5-1 lead.
The hits continued with Miller contributing two more RBIs in the fourth and fifth innings and Mancine adding another two-RBI single in the fifth. The sixth inning featured two more RBIs each from Vance and Mike Ries ’14 to put the score out of reach. Kyle Koski ’14 struck out eight batters over seven full innings on the mound and allowed just six hits. He improves his record to 4-2 on the season.
The Scots continue conference play this weekend with a four-game series against Oberlin College at home. Games begin at noon and 3 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday at Art Murray Field.