Jake Fling

Tyler Schuch

Sophomore Garrett Crum sparked the eighth-ranked College of Wooster baseball team offensively with a grand slam after senior Jamie Lackner was intentionally walked to load the bases in game one, and the Fighting Scots went on to have another banner day offensively with 31 runs as Wooster capped a North Coast Athletic Conference East Division series with an 18-2 and 13-2 sweep over Kenyon College at McCloskey Field on Monday afternoon.

Similar to Saturday's second game, Wooster (21-5, 10-2 NCAC East) trailed early as Kenyon (13-16, 5-7 NCAC East) plated a run in the bottom of the first inning, but in the third inning Kenyon elected to issue a free pass to Lackner after first-year Nick Strausbaugh and junior Jake Fling reached on a single and double to start the frame. Then, Crum, who mashed his first collegiate home run to put the Scots on the board during Saturday's series-opener, cleared the bases to make it 4-1, and Wooster's run-producing capabilities took center stage from there.

Wooster made it 8-1 in the fourth inning with Fling sparking a two-out rally that saw four Scots touch home. Fling's two-out triple marked the ninth of his career, moving the center fielder into a five-way tie for the 10th-most in program history. After Fling's at bat, sophomore Michael Wielansky and Lackner clubbed back-to-back two-baggers to account for the first two runs of the inning. Two batters after Lackner, first-year Dan Gail came through in the clutch with a two-run opposite-field single.

The Scots' next big inning came via a nine-run sixth inning, but prior to that, a Fling sacrifice fly extended the lead back to seven at 9-2 as the Scots answered back in the top of the fifth after the Lords trotted across a run in the bottom half of the fourth. First-year Dan Harwood knocked in the first two runs of the sixth with a pinch-hit single through the left side of the infield. Later in the inning, Fling delivered a two-run, two-bagger for the other big hit of the inning that saw the Scots send 13 men to the plate.

Sophomore Chandler Dippman (2-0) worked the complete game, and did a fine job with traffic on the basepaths as the Lords were limited to two runs on 10 hits.

Offensively, all nine starters recorded a hit for the Scots with Fling leading the way with a 3-for-3 game with three runs scored and three RBI, while Crum headlined the RBI department with five. Notable, four different Scots scored three runs in the first game of the twin bill.

In the nightcap, Wooster again trailed 1-0 after an inning, but the Scots answered right back with a four-spot in the second inning. Senior Ryan Ostendorf and Dippman drew back-to-back one-out walks with Fling knocking in Wooster's first two runs of the game with a one-out opposite-field single. After a RBI groundout by Wielansky, Lackner laced a single into left field for the final run of the inning. Notable, the single marked Lackner's 200th hit of his career, and he became the 12th player in program history to reach that milestone.

Two innings later, junior Drew Tornow put the wraps on a five-run frame with a three-run home run – his third of the series – to make it 13-1. Earlier in the inning, Lackner and Crum recorded RBI fielder's choices.

Senior Tyler Schuch went the distance in the series-finale, allowing two runs on three hits. Notable, the start marked the third time in Schuch's career the left-hander has worked at least six innings while allowing three or fewer hits.

Offensively, Wooster's two through four hitters – Fling, Wielansky, and Lacker – combined to go 8-for-13 with eight RBI and four runs scored in the series-finale. Additionally, Fling logged four stolen bases, the most by a Scot since recent W Association Hall of Fame inductee Matt Miller swiped four against Hiram College on March 28, 2004. As a team, Wooster swiped seven bases, marking the highest single-game total since the Scots did likewise against Manchester University on March 21, 2016.

Next, Wooster faces Denison University (19-6, 5-3 NCAC West) in a non-conference game at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.