Luke Sutton

The College of Wooster blasted 11 home runs, including four before an out had been recorded, as part of a 31-5 pummeling of Mt. Union College Monday afternoon in non-conference action at Alliance, Ohio.

It was a game for the record books, as Wooster (31-7) set a team mark for largest margin of victory. The 31-run outburst was the third time the Fighting Scots have scored 30-plus, with the other two times both occurring in the 1986 season. Wooster's 11 homers were the second-most in school history, only shy of its NCAA Div. III record of 13 against Kenyon College on March 29, 1986.

Also of note, the Scots' 30 RBI were the second-most in team annals and the 30 hits tied for the second-highest total, while the 57 at bats equaled a single-game mark and the 67 total bases were the second-most.

Individually, Luke Sutton (Galion, Ohio / Galion) and John Warren (New Castle, Pa. / Union Area), who each had two dingers, tied the Wooster record for at bats with seven apiece. Warren drove in eight runs, which rates as the fourth-most RBI in a single-game by a Wooster player.

Prior to the first out of the game, Wooster had gone through the order and was leading 9-0, capped by a Warren grand slam. Before that, Sean Kapren (Venetia, Pa. / Peters Twp.) and Sutton led off with back-to-back home runs, and Matt Groezinger (Columbus, Ohio / Upper Arlington) added a two-run shot out of the clean-up spot. He has now homered in five consecutive games.

After Mt. Union (19-17) tallied one in the bottom of the first, the Scots' offense picked up where it left off, scoring seven more in the second inning. The two big hits were a two-run double for Warren and a three-run home run off the bat of Stu Beath (St. Louis, Mo. / Avon Old Farms – Conn.).

Leading 16-2 through three innings, Wooster added four runs in the fourth with a second grand slam, this time by Michael DeBord (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio / Woodridge).

It was Matthew Pierce's (Oklahoma City, Okla. / Casady School) turn for a home run in the sixth, as he cleared the fence in left for two more Scot runs and a 22-2 lead.

Warren and Chris Wood (Lebanon, Ohio / Lebanon) led off the seventh inning with back-to-back round-trippers. It was the first home run of Wood's career. Also that frame, Robby Daniels (New London, Ohio / Mansfield Christian) drove a double to left-center, marking the first hit of his career, and Colin Meinzer (Toledo, Ohio / Central Catholic) contributed a three-run homer. In all, Wooster put up eight that frame, which made the scoreboard read 30-2.

The Scots' final tally was another home run – Sutton's second of the day – coming in the ninth inning. The junior outfielder had not homered prior to Monday's game.

When all the dust had settled, 13 different Wooster players had hits, including pitcher Anthony Trapuzzano (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Canevin Catholic), and 13 scored runs. Recording a team-high four hits were both Warren and Pierce, with the latter reaching base safely six times as he went 4-for-4 with two walks and five runs scored. Sutton (3-for-7), Beath (3-for-5), Groezinger (3-for-5), and DeBord (3-for-5) added three base knocks apiece, with DeBord delivering six RBI.

Overshadowed by the offensive performance, Justin McDowell (Willard, Ohio / Willard) was solid on the mound. He allowed just one earned run on seven hits over the first five innings and struck out two without a walk, while improving to 7-2.

The Scots return to action Thursday afternoon at John Carroll University (23-8).