Matt Groezinger

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster combined for 21 runs on 22 hits and eight walks over 12 innings worth of at bats Saturday, as the No. 7 ranked Fighting Scots easily swept past North Coast Athletic Conference East Division foe Oberlin College by 9-1 and 12-2 scores in their 2009 home debut at Art Murray Field.

In the opener, Wooster (17-3, 6-0 NCAC East) used a strong pitching performance from Matt DeGrand (Stow, Ohio / St. Vincent-St. Mary) and four RBI by Matt Groezinger (Columbus, Ohio / Upper Arlington) for the eight-run win.

The Scots scored two runs in both the first and second innings. A Groezinger single to the opposite field (left field) plated both in the first, and in the second, Stu Beath (St. Louis, Mo. / Avon Old Farms – Conn.) delivered a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded for one score, which was followed by a wild pitch that brought another run.

In the bottom of the fourth, Wooster broke the game open. The Scots loaded the bases with one out and another wild pitch led to a 5-0 lead. During the same at bat, Groezinger singled through the right side to bring home Luke Sutton (Galion, Ohio / Galion) as well as Beath for a seven-run cushion.

Oberlin (7-13, 0-2 NCAC East) managed a single tally in the fifth – DeGrand's last inning of work. He struck out three without a walk and yielded just four hits, while improving to 4-0.

Wooster added a couple of insurance runs in the bottom of that frame to account for the remaining scoring.

Game two saw the Scots jump out to a 3-0 lead through three innings. All three runs came during the second, which started with back-to-back singles from Matthew Johnson (Orrville, Ohio / Orrville) and Matthew Pierce (Oklahoma City, Okla. / Casady School). Johnson eventually scored on a balk, and later, Sean Kapren (Venetia, Pa. / Peters Twp.) drove a two-run single to left field.

The Yeomen tried to make a game of it, tallying a run in the top of the fourth, but starting pitcher Justin McDowell (Willard, Ohio / Willard) stranded two runners to maintain a 3-1 Wooster lead.

During the Scots' half of the fourth, they loaded the bases with one out. Sutton singled to plate one, which was followed by a wild pitch for another run, and Beath's second sacrifice fly of the day. That added up to a 6-1 advantage.

The two teams exchanged single tallies in the fifth inning, and then Wooster exploded for a five-run sixth, highlighted by Colin Meinzer's (Toledo, Ohio / Central Catholic) three-run homer over the left field fence, which put the game out of reach.

McDowell earned the win (3-1), allowing just one earned run on five hits, and he struck out seven during six innings of work.

Offensively for the day, Groezinger combined to go 5-for-8 with five RBI out of the clean-up spot and Karpen went 4-for-5 with six runs scored, a double, two RBI, a walk, and two hit by pitches while leading off. Also for the Scots, Sutton had a 3-for-6, two-RBI day, including a double, and Johnson was 3-for-8.

Ben Master (2-for-6), Brian Verne (2-for-5), and Brandon Cantrill (2-for-6) led Oberlin with two hits apiece.

The two squads are scheduled for another doubleheader in Wooster on Sunday at 1 p.m.