Tucson, AZ – The Oberlin College baseball team opened spring break with a split against Saint John's University (Minn.) at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Yeomen dropped the lid-lifter 15-4 before regrouping for a 5-4 win the nightcap.
 
Making his first start of the season, junior southpaw Zachary Steer earned his first win of the year as he twirled 5.1 innings, sprinkling 12 hits over 5.1 innings. The traffic on the bases resulted in just four runs for the Johnnies.
 
Oberlin led 5-2 for much of the way, but St. John's would use three hits and an Oberlin error to plate a pair of runs in the home half the sixth, forcing Head Coach Adrian Abrahamowicz to turn to closer Milo Sklar for a four-out save. The Brooklyn, New York, native answered the call by striking out Jeron Terres to end the sixth before fanning the side in order in the seventh to secure his second save of the year.
 
The Yeomen ended game one by scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh and carried that momentum over to start game two as they posted four runs in the top of the first. Parker Goldstein ripped the first pitch of the game down the right field line and would come around to score on a single to center by Quin Butler. Ian Dinsmore would later deliver a two-run single back up the box before rookie Lawrence Hamilton had a run-scoring infield single to make it a 4-0 Oberlin lead before the Johnnies even swung the bats.
 
The Johnnies would scratch out a pair of runs in the second, but Oberlin was able to get one back in the third as Amari Newman led off the inning with a double and would come across the dish on a ground out by Brendan Mapes.
 
Unfortunately, the Yeomen bats would go cold the rest of the way as Oberlin went hitless from the fourth inning on, but had a big enough cushion to preserve their third win of the year.
 
Sam Harris led the Yeomen offensively with two hits and a stolen base.
 
Yeomen ace Sean Kiley got through the front two innings of game one unscathed with four strikeouts, but things would unravel in the third as the Johnnies erupted for five runs on seven hits with all of the damage coming with two outs.
 
Saint John's, who had 18 hits in the win, would tack on two in the fourth, six in the fifth, and two more in the in the sixth leave no doubt in the outcome. First-year Cole Liston made his collegiate debut on the bump and pitched a perfect 1-2-3 seventh.
 
The Yeomen had just two hits until the seventh. Andrew Sugarman plated Brennan Ryan for Oberlin's first run of the game with a ground out to second. Sklar, who got on base with an opposite-field double would then come across on a line drive single by Newman. Jack Derwin also produced a run-scoring double in the inning.
 
Oberlin is back in action tomorrow morning with a 10 a.m. MST showdown against Wesleyan. They will then take on Buena Vista at 1:30 p.m.