Ryan Ostendorf

Kenny Reckart

The College of Wooster, ranked No. 22 in this week's D3baseball.com top-25 poll, came through in the clutch late in games time and time again during the second week of its annual spring break trip to Florida, and those offensive rallies combined with solid relief pitching resulted in the Fighting Scots brining back an 8-2 overall record to the Buckeye State.

After dropping its initial game of the second week – a close 5-2 decision to an undefeated North Central (Ill.) College squad – Wooster reeled off wins in its last four games.

First, the Scots scored once in the top of the ninth on a Michael Wielansky two-out RBI single to send their game with Mideast regional rival Manchester University into extras, then exploded for six runs in the 12th inning to prevail 9-3. Drew Tornow provided a two-run base knock to highlight the 12th.

Next, Wooster found itself down 6-3 to Keystone College entering the bottom of the eighth, only to put together a big inning, this time plating seven runs during the eighth to notch a 10-6 victory. The Scots utilized just four hits to produce that seven-run inning, with Jamie Lackner bringing two across on a single to tie the game at six and Kenny Reckart later singling in a pair to provide some insurance.

Western Connecticut State University owned a 6-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, but again Wooster worked its late-inning magic. The Scots tallied three in the seventh, which began with a triple off the bat of Jake Fling, two in the eighth on a two-out Tornow double to take a 7-6 advantage, and even after giving up the tying run in the top of the ninth, they answered with the game-winner via a Reckart two-out, walk-off single.

All told, Wooster scored 21 of its 27 runs in the seventh inning or later during that three-game stretch.

The Scots' last game of the trip played out differently, as they were the ones giving up a late lead with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville rallying for a six-run ninth inning to tie it 8-8. Wooster bounced back, though, for a single tally during the top of the 10th when the Pioneers' catcher was called for obstruction on a fielder's choice play, allowing Chris Fafalios, who had singled to leadoff the inning, to account for the game-winner.

The offensive standouts for Wooster during the second week were Ryan Ostendorf and Reckart. Ostendorf's 4-for-4, three-RBI game against Wis.-Platteville, which included the team's lone homer of the trip, propelled him to a .529 average (9-for-17) and six RBI for the week, while Reckart was just a shade under .500 (.480; 12-for-25) with six RBI.

Additional noteworthy performances included freshman Chandler Dippman going 5-for-10 and playing error-free defense at third base over four games, Tornow roping three doubles and tallying seven RBI, and Wielansky scoring eight runs and stealing five bases in as many attempts.

After the starting pitching stood out during the opening week, it was the relievers that took center stage this past week. Closer Michael Whitaker picked up a save in the Wis.-Platteville game and posted a 1.80 ERA with eight strikeouts during 5.0 innings, and Joey Gilmore won a pair of games in 2.2 innings of relief. Also collecting victories were James Usher and Zach Woullard, while Jacob Pries accounted for 1.2 scoreless.

Also, ace Michael Houdek and Tyler Schuch threw quality starts against Keystone and Wis.-Platteville, respectively, despite winding up with no decisions. Houdek matched a career high with eight strikeouts without a walk and yielded just two earned runs over six innings, while Schuch gave up just two total runs and struck out three during seven strong innings.

The Scots' northern schedule will begin Wednesday, when they travel to Muskingum University (9-5) for a non-conference affair, starting at 4 p.m.