Auburndale, Florida – Wrapping up the final day of the RussMatt Invitational, the Oberlin College baseball team split a pair of matches on Wednesday. Dropping the first game against Williams 13-9, the Yeomen rallied back to secure a dominating 15-5 (7 inn.) victory over Carleton and shift to 10-7-1 overall. 

"It was a great trip for our team to continue building on what we've been working on all year. Do the little things right and keep playing for the guy next to you," Head Coach Johnathan Ray adds. "Our parents and fans were great all week, too!" 

In game one, Warner Gearhart got the start on the mound, pitching 3.1 innings and recording four strikeouts while earning four runs. Four more Yeomen tapped in for the relief as Quinn Bamberger, James Min, Lachlan Nichol, and Santiago Serrano combined for five strikeouts and a combined seven earned runs. 

Brady Groves and Sam Labrecque led Oberlin's offensive charge with three hits and two RBIs each, while Daniel Krabill and Anton Shelton each posted a pair of hits, with Shelton tallying three RBIs. 

With Patrick Leonard on second, Groves drilled a single to center field, allowing Leonard to score and give the Crimson and Gold an early lead. Krabill's double to center field scored Labrecque, allowing Oberlin to maintain a 2-0 edge after the opening inning. 

Shelton stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded in the top of the third, drilling a double to center field and scoring Daniel Devapalan, Krabill, and Labrecque to produce the three-RBI play. Responding to the 5-0 deficit, Williams scored a pair of runs in the following inning, cutting the margin to three. 

The Ephs tallied a pair of runs in the fourth and then capitalized on a triple to score three in one play, followed by a sacrifice bunt to advance to an 8-5 lead. In the sixth inning, Groves scored You-Fu Chen to launch an Oberlin surge. Nailing a single to center field, Labrecque scored Groves and Nik Mezzanotte to tie the Massachusetts foe 8-8. Labrecque scored on a Williams error to cap the four-run inning for the Yeomen. 

Keeping Oberlin from scoring and notching two multi-run innings, Williams secured the 13-9 victory. The Crimson and Gold took a moment to reset ahead of game two with a fresh set of pitchers ahead of the high-scoring game. 

Davis Hayes opened the first 5.1 innings for the Yeomen, totaling five strikeouts while allowing one run. Shido Bao came in for the relief, pitching 1.2 innings while striking out one and earning a trio of runs. 

Robbie Lynn led Oberlin with a trio of hits, while Shelton and Groves each posted two hits each. Labrecque added a trio of RBIs while Max Bernstein recorded two RBIs and a hit. 

Krabill opened the second-game scoring, launching a line drive home run to right field at the start of the second inning. In the third inning, doubles from Kyle Baxt, Labrecque, and Mezzanotte propelled Oberlin to a 5-0 lead. 

Carleton followed with a run in the fourth as the Yeomen followed with two more runs. Singles from Groves and Bernstein extended Oberlin's edge to 10-1 while Groves, Alex Gaetano, and Lynn scored on wild pitches. Maintaining a 13-2 edge, the Yeomen delivered two more runs on a pair of Knights' errors. Though Carleton notched three more in the seventh, the Crimson and Gold walked away with the 15-5 victory. 

Oberlin returns to the diamond on Sunday, March 29, when they travel south to Otterbein. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. 

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