Oberlin, OH - On a wet and rainy northeast Ohio Sunday afternoon, the Oberlin Yeomen split a two-game series against the Capital Comets — winning 14-7 in game one and falling 9-4 in game two.
In game one, the Yeomen scored a season high 14 runs, kicked off by a nine run first inning in which they sent 14 batters to the plate.
Sophomore right fielder Brady Groves led off the inning with a booming double into the right-center gap. Sophomore first baseman Kyle Baxt followed with a walk and with one out, junior designated hitter Nik Mezzanotte reached on an error to fill the bases. Freshman third baseman Sam Labrecque delivered with a two-RBI single into the left-center gap, putting the Yeomen up 2-0 early.
Later in the inning, after poor Comets defense loaded the bases again, freshman left fielder Daniel Devapalan reached on a fielder's choice. Two more runs came across to make it a 4-0 game.
After a walk to senior third baseman Zachary Ritts, freshman second baseman Jeffery Chen roped a ball just out of reach of the third baseman to plate Devapalan, making it 5-0. Back at the top of the lineup, Groves smashed his second double of the inning off the right field wall, scoring Chen and Ritts to make it 7-0 Yeomen.
The next batter, Baxt, hit a high fastball deep over the right field hedges at DIll Field for his second home run of the season to put the Yeomen ahead 9-0.
"I was just trying to put a good swing on the pitch and barrel the baseball," Baxt said. "I'm happy I was able to do that and contribute to the win."
After tacking on one run in the bottom of the second, thanks to a RItts RBI double into the right-center gap, the Yeomen kept attacking in the bottom of the third. With the bases loaded, Devapalan smacked a double off the left field wall, scoring Mezzanotte and junior catcher Anton Shelton to make it 12-1. Ritts followed with an RBI groundout to second and Chen further added on with a right to right center to make it a 14-1 game.
Sophomore Calvin Burkholder made his fourth start of the year on the bump for Oberlin. The Aurora, CO native allowed one run through three innings before running into trouble in the fourth.
After a leadoff single, Capital capitalized with a two-run shot down the left field line to make it a 14-3 game. Two batters later, with one runner on, Capital hit their second home run of the inning, a shot down the right field line to make it a nine run ballgame.
After a smooth fifth inning, Burkholder ran into trouble again in the sixth. After the leadoff man reached on an error, back-to-back doubles made it a 14-7 ballgame. Burkholder day was done after that, the righty fought through five innings, giving up nine hits and seven runs (six earned), while striking out three.
Sophomore Micah Rodriguez came on in relief of Burkholder in the sixth. The righty retired the Comets in order after coming on to keep the lead at seven.
Rodriguez retired the side in order again in the top of the seventh to secure the Yeomen's third win of the season. The rightly struck out two in his two scoreless innings while not allowing a baserunner.
The momentum from the 14-7 trouncing was quickly lost in game two.
The Comets jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the top of the first against sophomore Grayson Black.
Capital added another run in the top of the second before the Yeomen got on the board in the bottom half of the inning.
Freshman catcher Daniel Krabill caught his first of many barrels on the day, a double down the left field line for his first collegiate hit. Ritts delivered an RBI single up the middle, scoring Krabill to make it a 6-1 game. A few batters later, freshman center fielder Dylan Norman laced a single to right to plate Krabill and cut the deficit to four.
However, that was the closest it would get. The Comets got to Black again in the top of the third, scoring two more to grow the lead to six.
Black was able to get through the fourth but his day was done after that. The righty battled through four innings, giving up eight runs (seven earned) on five hits and striking out three.
Senior Max Wassarman was stellar for the Yeomen in relief of Black. The righty threw four sharp innings, only giving up two hits and one unearned run.
Oberlin tried to get back into the game in the mid-innings but to no avail. A Ritts RBI groundout in the third and a Groves RBI single to left in the sixth made it an 8-4 ballgame.
The Comets scored their final run of the game in the top of the seventh before the game was called after eight innings due to daylight.
The split moves Oberlin to 3-9 on the year while Capital moves to .500 on the season, at 9-9.
Oberlin faces Otterbein University this Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 4 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.
