Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College baseball team earned an 11-3 win in game one, but the visiting Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops took the nightcap 17-10 in the NCAC-opening doubleheader for both sides on Saturday afternoon at Dill Field.
 
First-year Jake Blozy was sensational at the plate, going 7-for-9 with six runs scored and two RBIs. Jake Freed, Max Anastasio, and Yianni Gardner each finished with three hits and combined for nine runs batted in, five of which came courtesy of Freed.
 
Sophomore right-hander Vince Dolcemaschio (1-2) was impressive on the mound in game one to secure the first win of his career. The Los Angeles, California, native pitched into the seventh before departing, allowing just two runs on six hits to go along with six strikeouts, four walks and two hit batters.
 
He was staked to an early lead as the Yeomen erupted for five runs in the bottom of the first inning to set the tone from the onset. Freed got the rally rolling with a two-run double to the gap in right center and two batters later it was Anastasio who found pasture in right center to score Freed with an RBI double of his own. A pair of passed balls and two Bishops' errors allowed the Yeomen to add on two more tallies before the inning finally ended.
 
Blozy manufactured another Oberlin run in the second, getting aboard via a leadoff single before stealing second and moving to third on a strike out in the dirt. His heady base running allowed him to score on a ground out by Freed to extend the cushion out to six.
 
The Yeomen bats would quiet in the middle innings as the Bishops posted single tallies in the fourth and seventh innings to trim the gap down four at 6-2. However, the Yeomen would leave no doubt in the eventual outcome with five runs in the home half of the seventh. Gardner plated first run of the frame with a single through the left side before back-to-back big blows by Alex Vaughan and Chris Wolfe. Vaughan roped a two-run double to centerfield before Wolfe belted a two-run bomb over the trees in left field for his team-leading third home run of the season.
 
Jacob Thompson worked the final three innings in relief of Dolcemaschio, allowing just one run on three hits to lock down the second save of his career.
 
Unfortunately, it was a different story for the Yeomen in the nightcap, using pitchers in the game as the Bishops pounded 18 hits to go along with their 13 free bases on 10 walks and three hit batters.
 
Oberlin scored in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead on a sac fly by Freed but the Bishops answered back with six runs in the second inning to chase Oberlin starter William Kennedy after just 1.2 innings.
 
The lead swelled to 10-2 in the top of the third, but the Yeomen would push a pair across in the bottom of the frame before adding on five runs in the fourth to trim the gap down just three at 12-9. The big inning featured a two-run single from Blozy, a sac fly from Max Cairo, and a run-scoring single back up the box from Gardner.
 
Unfortunately, the Bishops answered every Oberlin rebuttal with more runs, posting a pair in the fifth and sixth innings, and a single tally in the seventh. Oberlin would take advantage of one of the seven OWU errors in the game to score once more in the seventh, but it was too little too late to impact the outcome.
 
The game-one win snapped a six-game slide for the Yeomen as they are now 5-10 on the year and an even 1-1 in league play. OWU headed home a 6-12 and 1-1 in the NCAC.
 
Oberlin's busy week will continue with a Monday matinee at home against Ohio Northern University. First pitch from Dill Field is set for 4 p.m.