Anna Duke
Sports Editor
The Wooster baseball team (10-1) is having its most impressive season opening since 2010. This Spring Break, the team took a trip to Florida where they showed their potential for this spring season.
This year’s team faced uncertainty because the starting line-up is relatively new due to the gaps left by the class of 2014. The team graduated 16 seniors last season, leaving only two infield players, Frank Vance ’15 and John McLain ’15, and returning pitcher, Zach Woullard ’16 as the only veterans in the starting line-up this season.
According to the Wooster Athletics website, Coach Pettorini said, “[We] grew very accustomed to last year’s senior class, [but] we also had a lot of young people who have been patiently waiting their turn. Now that opportunity is here.”
The younger players took advantage of this opportunity. The baseball team went undefeated in their first five games of the season in Ft. Myers, Florida. The team’s first game of the season was a comeback win against North Park University. After trailing behind for most of the game, the team was able to score six runs in the seventh inning to reach a 6-4 decision. The team went on to beat University of Pittsburgh-Bradford 10-3, Olivet College 8-4, Rockford University 7-3 and Dominican University 6-4 in extra innings. Defensively, the team boasted a .974 fielding percentage and turned five double plays.
Later in the week, the Scots traveled north to play six more games in Port Charlotte, Florida. The team racked up wins against State University of New York-New Paltz 4-1, Lancaster Bible College 12-2, 20-8, University of Massachusetts Boston 11-6 and Farmingdale State 10-6. The Scots fell to Manchester University 6-9. Manchester dominated the first three innings. They scored five runs and the Scots scored one. Wooster fought back in the fourth inning, scoring five more runs, but were unable to hold off Manchester.
After excelling defensively in Ft. Myers, the team found success in the batter’s box in Port Charlotte. Two of the Scots’ top hitters were Jake Fling ’18 and Vance. Fling (.542) hit three doubles and scored 11 runs, and Vance (.462) added four doubles, two triples and 10 RBIs. Kevin Hagen ’17, Jamie Lackner ’17 and McLain each contributed four-hit games.
In February, the NCAC coaches voted Wooster’s baseball team as the favorite for the 2015 season. After a successful run in Florida, the team met the expectations of the NCAC coaches’ preseason poll. In the past 30 years, the team has won 15 championships. The 2010 team was one of the 15 titleholders, and this team has its eyes on the title too.
The Scots played their first home game of the season at Art Murray Field on Wednesday against Muskingum University after press time. The team travels to Meadville, Pennsylvania this weekend to face Allegheny College in a series of double headers.