New Concord, Ohio - The Oberlin baseball team dropped a high-scoring battle with the Muskingum Muskies on Thursday, falling 16-8. Sophomore shortstop Grayson Black has a career day at the plate, notching a career-high four hits and racking up four RBIs. 
 
Freshman right-hander Matthew Ruttkay got the start on the bump for the Yeomen. The 6'7" Northbrook, IL native cruised through the first three innings, facing one over the minimum.
 
The Yeomen got on the board first in the top of the fourth. Sophomore first baseman singled to left and sophomore right fielder Brady Groves followed with a single down the third base line. With two outs, freshman third baseman Sam Labrecque walked to set up Black with the bases loaded. The Palm Harbor, FL native delivered a sharp single down the right field line to score Baxt and Groves to give Oberlin a 2-0 lead.
 
Muskingum responded quickly in the bottom of the fourth; plating four runs to take a 4-2 lead. Ruttkay's day was over after the fourth; in his first career start, he fought through four innings, giving up three hits and surrendering four runs (three earned) while striking out two.
 
After the Muskies tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth to take a 5-2 lead, Oberlin responded with two runs of their own in the top of the seventh. Black led off the inning with a single to left and freshman left fielder Jack Braddell smoked a single to left to set up the Yeomen with first and second. The next batter, senior shortstop Zachary Ritts hit a single through the 5-6 hole to score Black and make it a 5-3 game. One batter later, senior center fielder Zach Masnikoff smoked a single through the right side, plating Braddell to make it a one-run game.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, with two outs, Muskingum smacked a three-run home run in the left-center gap to make it a 8-4 game. The Muskies added on one more run to make it a 9-4 game heading into the eighth.
 
The Yeomen bats continued to stay hot through the late innings. Groves led off the top of the eighth with a towering double off the left-center wall and advanced to third on a single through the left side from Labrecque. Black delivered once again, roping a single up the middle to score Groves and make it a 9-5 game. One batter later, with two outs, Ritts chopped a single through the 5-6 hole to plate Labrecque to make it a three run game.
 
The Muskingum offense remained relentless in the bottom of the eighth. Scoring seven runs on four hits to make it a 16-6 game.
 
In the top of the ninth, the Yeomen continued to battle. After a leadoff walk from junior designated hitter Nik Mezzanotte, freshman first baseman Max Bernstein laced a single down the right-field line for his first collegiate hit. After a Groves sacrifice fly made it a 16-7 game, freshman catcher Caden Rosenbaug came through with his first collegiate hit, a rocket single down the left field line. After a walk to freshman third baseman Jake Drimmer, Black registered his fourth hit of the day, a single up the middle to score Bernstein and bring the score to 16-8. 
 
The loss drops the Yeomen to 2-8 on the season while the win boosts the Muskies to 12-1 on the year.
 
Oberlin is back at Dill Field this Saturday, March 15, with a doubleheader against Capital University. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
 
Fans can keep up with their favorite teams on Instagram, Facebook, X, or TikTok, and watch all the home matches live online. The Crimson and Gold's home broadcasts can be accessed on TV through the official Oberlin College Sports Network app on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.