Oberlin, Ohio – The season-long struggles continued on Saturday afternoon for the Oberlin College baseball team as it fell to the Wabash College Little Giants 11-5 and 11-0 at Dill Field.
The setbacks dropped the Yeomen back to 9-21 overall and 2-10 in the NCAC while they also fell to 0-6 on their home turf. The Little Giants head back to Crawfordsville, Indiana, at 21-9 and 8-4 in league play.
In game one, the Little Giants used four hits and two Oberlin errors to score five runs in the second inning before adding two more in the fourth to open up a 7-0 lead.
The Yeomen would threaten a comeback by plating four runs in the home-half of the fifth. After back-to-back walks to lead off the frame to
Ian Dinsmore and
Milo Sklar, senior
Sam Harris followed with a single down the right field line to load the bases. Junior catcher
Brendan Mapes would then drive in the Yeomen's first run on an infield single that was coupled with an error as two runs scored on the play. Senior outfielder
Jack McGowan kept the rally rolling with an opposite-field two-run double down the left field line that sent Mapes and Harris across the dish.
Unfortunately, the Yeomen could not get that shutdown inning they needed as Wabash answered back with a run in the sixth before tacking on another solo tally in the seventh.
Oberlin would take advantage of two Wabash errors to get another run across in the bottom of the seventh as
Derek Martin delivered an RBI single to center to score freshman
Lawrence Hamilton. However, that would be all the damage Oberlin was able to create as they left two men stranded in the inning and 11 total for the game.
Heading into the final third of the contest, the Yeomen trailed just 9-5, but a big two-out two-run base hit by Bryce Aldridge in the ninth effectively put the game away for good.
Oberlin starter
Zachary Steer (3-3) last just 3.2 innings as he allowed seven hits and issued four walks. His line was also tagged for seven runs, but just three were earned.
Oberlin chased Wabash starter Bryan Roberts after 4.1 innings, but the Little Giants bullpen allowed only two hits and one run the rest of the way. Zach Moffett worked the final 2.2 innings, striking out four as he got credit with the win.
Harris and Mapes each had two hits as they accounted for half of Oberlin's eight hits in the game.
The Little Giants jumped all over the Yeomen from the onset in game two, scoring 10 runs over the first three innings and never looking back.
Wabash roughed up Yeomen starter
Noah Gear for eight runs on 10 hits in just three innings of work as he suffered his first loss of the season to fall back to 3-1.
Offensively, the Yeomen had four hits as Cody Cochran cruised through eight shutout innings, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out 11 en route to moving to 6-2.
The Yeomen are back in action on Tuesday afternoon as they host John Carroll University at 4 p.m.
