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| Craig Day |
The College of Wooster utilized four pitchers and 14 position players to earn a hard-fought 5-3 win in 14 innings, which gave the Fighting Scots a split at North Coast Athletic Conference rival Ohio Wesleyan University on Sunday afternoon as the Battling Bishops took the opener by a 2-0 count.
After dropping the first game, Wooster (10-9, 4-2 NCAC) fell behind 3-1 through two innings during the nightcap, but tallied an unearned run in the third and tied it in the sixth when Zack Vesco and Michael DeBord had back-to-back singles to start that frame. Vesco would score the equalizer via an error on a failed pickoff attempt.
The Scots' pitching staff then worked its way out of a couple of jams, starting with the bottom of the sixth when Tyler Fugate stranded the bases loaded. A runner reached third base with two outs in the ninth, but Fugate struck out a pinch hitter to complete his 4.2 scoreless innings of relief.
The bottom of the 11th saw Ohio Wesleyan (9-10, 2-2 NCAC) get a runner to second base with two outs, and this time, Matt Barnes quieted the threat with an inning-ending strikeout.
Wooster, which put the potential winning run in scoring position (second base) during the eighth and 12th innings to no avail, would not be denied during the top of the 14th as it strung together three consecutive hits. DeBord led off with an infield single, reaching second on a throwing error, then Craig Day snuck an RBI double down the left-field line, and Eddie Reese added a bunt single. Day would come home with the insurance run, courtesy of a Derek Wyman sacrifice fly.
Steve Hagen, who took over for Barnes in the 13th, finished off the Bishops to notch the victory as the freshman right-hander improved to 3-1 with his two scoreless innings.
In the opener, the Scots were shutout by Kevin Schindler, who scattered five hits over the seven innings, and Keenan White was a tough-luck loser again. Just one of the two runs off of White, who is 0-2 despite a team-leading 1.78 ERA, was earned.
Offensively on the day, Day highlighted Wooster by going 2-for-3 and then 2-for-5 with the game-winning RBI, while DeBord went 3-for-5 during game two to offset an 0-for-3 in the opener.
After a 15-day, 21-game stretch of games in Georgia, Florida, Indiana, and Ohio, the Scots return home from their spring break trip and will play their home opener Wednesday afternoon against Muskingum University (6-9).