Chillicothe, OH – The Oberlin College baseball team started the day with a 12-6 win over Denison, but would later see its 2017 season come to an end, falling 13-5 to DePauw in the NCAC Tournament Semifinal.
The Yeomen end the season with a school-best record of 23-20, capping off of their third trip to the conference tournament in the last five years.
In the first elimination game of the day against the Big Red, the Yeomen trailed 5-1 heading into the bottom of the third, but they would go on to score 11 of the game's next 12 runs.
The Yeomen would cut the gap down to one in the home half of the fourth, plating three runs in the inning.
Brian Carney rapped an RBI double to right before
Quin Butler followed with a two-out two-run single back-up the box.
Oberlin would take control of the game of the game, scoring three runs in each of the next two innings to open up a 10-5 lead.
In the fourth, the first three Yeomen hitters would reach to load the bases for
Ian Dinsmore, who delivered an opposite-field single down the right field line.
Justin Cruz and Carney also had an RBI in the inning as Cruz sent a single through the left side and Carney lifted a sac fly that was caught in foul ground down the left side.
In the fifth,
Sam Harris had a run-scoring single and Cruz drove in another run with a single to right field.
Building up a five-run lead was more than enough for relief pitcher
Milo Sklar. He came on in the fourth and shutdown the Denison hitters, allowing just four hits and one walk the rest of the way. He struck out four en route to moving to 2-1 on the season.
The Yeomen had 15 hits in the game with eight of the nine starters having at least one hit. Butler led the charge going 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored.
With a berth in the championship final on the line, the Yeomen and Tigers squared off for the second time in as many days.
The Tigers built a 2-1 lead through the front three innings, but Oberlin would tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth when Dinsmore got hit with the bases loaded.
Relief pitcher Benjamin Lovett shutdown the Tigers in order in innings four through six, but the first two hitters would reach to start the seventh and they would ultimately go on to score three runs in the inning.
However, the Yeomen responded in a big way in the home-half of the inning, scoring three runs to tie the game. A fielder's choice by
Derek Martin with the bases loaded sent the first run home and
Darren Zaslau drew a bases-loaded walk. Harris would later come up with a clutch game-tying single back up the box to even the score at 5-5. Unfortunately, the inning would end on a double play, as the Yeomen were never able to take the lead.
After both teams went scoreless in the eighth, it came down to the ninth with Sklar on the mound for the Yeomen.
Oberlin had two outs with runners on the corners, but a walk would load the bases for Jack Thompson and he would come through with an opposite-field two-run single to left to put the Tigers on top for good. The inning would unravel from there as six more DePauw runs would score to leave no doubt in the eventual outcome.
Oberlin had nine hits in the game with Mapes, Butler and Harris each having two hits.
Oberlin will bid farewell to its eight seniors and begin preparations for 2018 in the fall.
