Bexley, OH - The Oberlin College baseball team gutted out a wild 19-12 11-inning win at Capital University on Thursday afternoon.
The Yeomen pounded out a season-high 20 hits, headlined by junior
Zach Masnikoff, who finished 4-for-7 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Oberlin was left for dead, entering the ninth inning trailing 11-5, but erupted for seven runs in the frame to go out in front by one run.
Ethan Hurwitz got the rally rolling with a leadoff home run. Two more Yeomen runs came across the dish on a Capital error to shrink the deficit down to three, and first-year
Grayson Black followed with an RBI single back up the box to put the pressure back on the Crusaders.
An RBI fielder's choice from Masinkoff and a sacrifice fly from
Anton Shelton tied the game at 11-11 before the Yeomen went out in front on
Brady Groves' run-scoring single up the middle, giving Oberlin the lead.
Unfortunately, the one-run advantage was short-lived. In the bottom of the ninth, Connor Feeney delivered a game-tying RBI double down the left-field line to even the affair.
After neither side scored in the 10th, the Yeomen bats would not be denied in their second-straight 11th-inning appearance. Oberlin would take the lead for good on Groves' sac fly, and
David Curtin would then follow with a two-run double to left field.
Alex Gaetano kept the train moving with his first-career hit and RBI, and the Yeomen would tack on two more runs in the 11th to leave little doubt about the eventual outcome.
Six different Yeomen had multiple hits in the game, with Curtin and
Kyle Baxt each finishing with three, while Groves, Hurwitz, and
JT Schoessel recorded a pair of hits, respectively.
Zachary Ritts (2-1) got the win out of the Oberlin bullpen after tossing four innings, giving up eight hits and four runs (three earned), to go along with three walks and three strikeouts. Rookie right-hander
Calvin Burkholder got the start on the bump and fanned eight over five innings, surrendering eight hits and six runs (four earned).
The Yeomen will open spring break with a three-game set as Asbury University, with two games scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
