Chillicothe, Ohio – The Oberlin College baseball team rallied from 3-0 deficit to tie the game at 4-4 only to see it slip away in the end as the DePauw University Tigers walked-off in the bottom of the ninth with a 5-4 win.
 
After two quick outs the start the ninth, a two-out walk extended the inning for DePauw. An errant pick-off attempt allowed pinch runner Noah Salasky to move into scoring position and he would later steal third. Catcher Zack Wade then came through with the game-winning hit, sending Noah Gear's 2-2 pitch back up the box to allow Salasky to trot home.
 
The Yeomen had nothing cooking until the sixth as Tigers' starter Mike Hammel allowed just one hit through the front five innings.
 
Oberlin clawed out a run in the sixth as Brendan Mapes hit a high fly ball into shallow right field that allowed Ian Dinsmore to score from second on the play. However, Mapes was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double to end the threat.
 
The Tigers would get that run back in the bottom of the frame to increase their lead back out to three at 4-1, but the Yeomen offense would finally come alive in the seventh, plating three in the inning to tie the game.
 
Brian Carney ignited the rally as he led off the inning with a double to the gap in right center. Following a walk to Quin Butler, junior Milo Sklar rapped a bases-clearing double down the line to cut the Tigers' advantage down to one. Senior co-captain Mike Masella would follow with a game-tying triple with nobody out in the inning.
 
Unfortunately, the next two Yeomen hitters would go down on strikes and then the inning would end with Masella getting called out while trying to steal home.
 
Gear would get the Yeomen back to the plate in a hurry with a shutdown 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh and the Yeomen eighth started off with a lot of promise as Dinsmore and Justin Cruz began the frame with back-to-back singles, but an infield fly and two straight punchouts left them stranded.
 
Oberlin went quietly in the ninth and extra innings appeared to be on the horizon, but in the end it wasn't meant to be.
 
Junior Sean Kiley started on the mound and lasted just 3.2 innings as his pitch count ballooned to 103. He surrendered three runs on seven hits and three walks to go along with five strikeouts.
 
Oberlin had eight hits in the game with Sklar and Dinsmore recording a pair each.
 
The Yeomen will play Denison tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. in the first elimination game of the tournament.