Gambier, Ohio – The Kenyon College Lords appeared to be well on their way to earning a series-opening sweep over the Oberlin College baseball team, but the Yeomen had different ideas, scoring eight runs over the final three innings to take game two 11-9. The Lords won game one of the series by a 4-2 count.
The Yeomen were down 9-2 through four complete innings, before fighting all the way back to earn the win and give themselves a chance to win the series tomorrow afternoon.
Oberlin grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the third as
Brian Hemmert scored on a wild pitch and
Sam Harris later followed with an RBI single to right field to plate
John Evans.
However, the lead was short-lived as the Yeomen gifted a big home-half of the inning to the Lords. Three hits coupled with three Oberlin errors allowed them to answer right back with six runs.
Kenyon would tack on three more runs in the fourth, as chances for a Yeomen victory looked very bleak at that time.
Freshman
Ian Dinsmore, who went 5-for-6 in the game, hit a two-out RBI single in the fifth to make it 9-3, but it was innings seven through nine where the Yeomen really came to life.
However, the late-inning rally would have been all for naught had the Yeomen bullpen not totally shut down the Lords' bats.
Yeomen relievers
David Gaetano,
Nicholas Morgan and
Milo Sklar combined to shutout the Lords over the final five innings, allowing just two hits. They did not issue a walk and combined for five strikeouts. Morgan, who worked the seventh earned the win, while Sklar fanned four of the six hitters he faced in innings eight and nine to lockdown his second save of the season.
Oberlin would plate four runs in the seventh to get within two. Back-to-back walks to Harris and
Brian Carney to start the inning set the stage for the outburst. Freshman
Brendan Mapes had an RBI single and
Blaise Dolcemaschio followed with a run-scoring groundout. Senior Co-captain
Colin Brown, who went 3-for-5, delivered an RBI single, while Evans drove in the final run of the frame on a fielder's choice.
The Yeomen continued to rough up the Lords' bullpen, belting out five more hits and taking the lead for good with three runs in the eighth. Mapes, Dolcemaschio and Evans each had run-producing plate appearances in the frame. Oberlin would then take advantage of two Kenyon errors to add an extra insurance tally in the ninth.
In game one the Yeomen offense never got going as the Kenyon pitching combination of Paul Henshaw and Luke Calcei held Oberlin to just four hits over seven innings.
Justin Cruz, who extended his hitting streak to 12 games only to see it snapped in game two, started the game with a single to center and would score on a sac fly by Dinsmore.
After the two hits in the first, the Yeomen wouldn't find another one until the sixth.
In the bottom of the first, two hits, two Oberlin errors and three walks spelled trouble for sophomore starter
Sean Kiley as the Lords took advantage to score three runs. Tyler Roland had the big hit of the inning with a two-RBI single to center.
Following the shaky start, Kiley would settle in and retire the next nine batters in order. However, the Lords would scratch out a single tally in the fifth to increase their lead to three.
Oberlin cut the deficit in half with a solo run of its own in the sixth on Dinsmore's RBI groundout, but they would get no closer the rest of the way. The tying run did come to the plate with two outs and one on in the seventh, but Calcei induced a groundout to end the game and secure his fourth save of the season.
Harris had two of the Yeomen's four hits in the game.
Kiley went the distance and was ultimately the tough-luck loser he dropped to 1-2 after allowing just five hits. He struck out five and walked four in the loss.
The Yeomen and Lords will complete their four-game set tomorrow afternoon with another doubleheader. First pitch of game one is set for 12 p.m. Kenyon will enter with an overall record of 17-8 and a 5-3 mark in the NCAC East. Oberlin checks in at 11-12 and 3-1 in conference play.
