Oberlin, Ohio - In Oberlin College baseball's home opener on Dill Field, second-year catcher
Daniel Krabill helped lead the way offensively. The Akron native finished the day 2-5 with a walk, including his first-career home run in game one.
"Going into the at-bat, I was looking for something simple to get the inning started," Krabill said. "[I] got down to two strikes, and was just looking to put something in play hard and force them to make a play."
Unfortunately, Krabill's blast was unable to keep much momentum for the Yeomen as they fell in game one 14-4 (seven innings) and 11-1 (seven innings) in the doubleheader against Kalamazoo College.
In game one, the Yeomen offense supplied 11 hits. The effort was highlighted by Krabill, third-year first baseman Kyle Baxt, and second-year third baseman Sam Labrecque, who all had multi-hit games.
Third-year right-hander Calvin Burkholder got the nod in game one for the Yeomen. The Aurora, CO native fought through four tough innings, allowing seven hits and eight runs (five earned) while striking out three.
In relief of Burkholder, first-year Jameson Bryant was rock solid. The right-hander went 2.1 innings, only allowing two earned runs while striking out one.
Third-year right-hander Davis Hayes came on in relief of Bryant and retired two batters on four pitches.
In the bottom of the seventh, first-year shortstop Kyle Takahashi lined a single up the middle to register his first-career hit.
In the nightcap, Kalamazoo jumped on the Yeomen early, taking a 5-0 advantage before Oberlin stepped to the plate.
After a rough first inning, second-year right-hander Matthew Ruttkay settled down. The Northbrook, IL native battled through four innings, surrendering nine hits and seven earned runs while striking out four.
Offensively, the Yeomen struggled to get anything going in game two. Oberlin only had four hits and struck out nine times as a team.
"We just need to clean up a few of the mistakes, and we are right there," Krabill said. "I'm looking forward to seeing how we bounce back tomorrow."
The doubleheader loss drops the Yeomen to 3-5-1 on the young season while Kalamazoo moves to 10-2 after picking up a pair of wins.
The Yeomen finish up their three-game set with Kalamazoo tomorrow, March 9, at Dill Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
