Shelley Grostefon
Senior Sports Writer
The Wooster men’s baseball team has had a successful spring season with an overall record of 26-9. The team’s success is due to an all-around presence and strength on both offense and defense, characterized by strong sluggers and reliable pitching.
As of press time, there are two games left in the season, both versus Otterbein. These games will be played on May 3 and May 4.
The Scots have been successful recently, with a 12-1 record in their last 13 games and a four-game winning streak as of press time. This record included a 10-inning win against Hiram College, 7-5. The only loss in this successful run was a home game on April 28 versus John Carroll University, which the Scots lost 10-7. Down 10-1 in the fifth inning, the Scots started to comeback after an RBI triple by Michael Wielansky ’19, but were unable to come back with the win. This loss ended an eight-game winning streak.
Following this loss, the Scots bounced back with four wins at Oberlin College on April 30 and May 1. These victories helped the Scots clinch first place in the NCAC East Division with a leading record of 14-2 in this division. They have clinched first place every year since 2013. Leading the team on the mound this weekend was Tyler Schuch ’17, Zach Woullard ’16, Michael Houdek ’17 and Nanak Saran ’18. Schuch and Woullard each threw complete games and only allowed two runs, Houdek threw a complete game and allowed one run, and Saran threw a complete game five-hit shutout.
These victories included strong support from the Scots’ offense. Most notably, on April 30, Wielansky hit a grand slam and Jake Fling ’18 went 6-for-9 in the two games. On May 1, Jamie Lackner ’17 went 4-for-7.
Contributing to the Scots’ success this year are several individuals who are garnering honors for their contributions. Wielansky was recently announced as a member of D3baseball.com’s Team of the Week. Wielansky’s performance this past week includes a .429 batting average and three doubles, two triples and three home runs. This award has not been given to a Fighting Scot since 2012. Wielansky was also given NCAC Player-of-the-Week honors for his performance this week. Wielansky’s season batting average is .363, second on the Scots to Lackner, who leads the team with a batting average of .390.
Saran was given NCAC Pitcher-of-the-Week honors. Saran won both of his starts last week, striking out 10 batters in these two games. He also extended his consecutive scoreless inning streak to 20 innings. Saran has a 3.05 ERA on the season and a record of 4-2.
On May 7 and 8, the team will participate in the NCAC Cross-Over Series to finish their season.