Oberlin, Ohio - The Oberlin College baseball team fell 9-4 in a non-conference game against Ohio Northern University on Sunday afternoon at Dill Field. 

Senior right-handed pitcher Justin Fuls got the nod for the Yeomen on the bump, making his first start since April 3. The Bernardsville, New Jersey, native worked a clean 1-2-3 bottom of the first but ran into a whale of trouble in the second as the Polar Bears erupted for six runs in the inning, which ultimately proved to be the difference in the end. 

The Yeomen got the scoring going in the bottom of the first, plating a pair of runs to stake Fuls to the early lead. Junior left fielder Ethan Hurwitz smoked a single up the middle and advanced to third on a bullet double from freshman first baseman Kyle Baxt. Sophomore catcher Nik Mezzanotte, getting his first start behind the dish for the Yeomen, delivered in a big way, knocking a big two-out single up the middle to give the Yeomen early advantage while jump-starting a 3-for-4, three RBI day for Mezzanotte. 

The Polar Bears fought back immediately in the top of the second. ONU scored six runs behind three hits, three walks and two Yeomen errors.

Fuls went on to settle down after his second inning of work, battling through a season-long six innings, surrendering eight runs on eight hits and five walks while striking out two. 

Unfortunately, the Yeomen were never able to regain the lead. The polar bears tacked on single tallies in the third, sixth, and eighth innings.

Oberlin's only other runs of the game would come in the third on RBI singles by Hurwitz and Mezzanotte. 

At the plate, the Yeomen were led by first-years. Fr. right fielder Brady Groves had a multi-hit game for the Yeomen and added on his tenth double of the year. Baxt had himself a day at the dish, finishing 4-for-5 with a double. The Wellington,  Florida, native now sits at 62 hits on the season - one shy of the single-season school record, and raised his NCAC-leading batting average to .440. Baxt has hit safely in 32 of the 34 games for the Yeomen this season. 

In the bottom of the seventh, Jr. third baseman David Curtain knocked his team-leading 11th double of the season but was left stranded as the Yeomen left eight men on base in the loss. 

Rookie right-handed pitcher Jaret Cole made just his second appearance of the season and went on to get the final nine outs of the game out of the pen for the Yeomen. Cole, a Texas Native looked sharp, only giving up two hits and one earned run in his three innings of work.

The Yeomen outhit the Polar Bears in the contest 15-10, but it was not enough. With the loss, the Yeomen fell to 14-20 while ONU moved to 22-14. 

The Yeoman travel to the Big Red Field to play two against the #2 team in the country, Denison University. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 3 pm.