Anthony Trapuzzano

The College of Wooster, ranked No. 10 in the most recent D3baseball.com top-25 poll, opened the 2009 season on Saturday by splitting a doubleheader with Case Western Reserve University, as Case won the first of two games played at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio, 2-0, and Wooster the second, 6-2.

The Fighting Scots (1-1) received two strong pitching performances. The staff, led by starters Matt Barnes (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Langley) and Anthony Trapuzzano (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Canevin Catholic), only yielded one earned run on six hits and three walks while combining for 18 strikeouts.

In the opener, Case Western Reserve (2-4) was able to scratch out an unearned run off Barnes in the fourth, thanks to Cory Pecoraro's two-out double. The Spartans added an insurance tally in the sixth and that was enough support for their starter, Zach Fry, who went the distance.

Wooster managed to get six hits off of Fry, but they were all singles. The Scots threatened in both the fifth and sixth innings. Matthew Pierce (Oklahoma City, Okla. / Casady School) reached on an infield single during the fifth, then stole second base, and advanced to third on a wild pitch, only to be stranded there. In the sixth, Sean Kapren (Venetia, Pa. / Peters Twp.) produced a one-out single, swiped second, and tried to score on Luke Sutton's (Galion, Ohio / Galion) ensuing base knock, but was thrown out at home.

Barnes was the tough-luck loser, as he gave up just the one unearned run on two hits and struck out nine without a walk. Fry's shutout included four strikeouts without a free pass.

Wooster's offense came alive early on in game two, as it plated two in the first and three in the second to take a commanding lead. Karpen, Sutton, and Stu Beath (St. Louis, Mo. / Avon Old Farms – Conn.) all singled to start the bottom of the first, with Beath's scoring Karpen. Matthew Johnson (Orrville, Ohio / Orrville) added an RBI on a fielder's choice.

In the second, the Scots put together four consecutive singles from Michael DeBord (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio / Woodridge), John Warren (New Castle, Pa. / Union Area), Karpen, and Sutton without any outs. Sutton brought home DeBord and then a Beath sacrifice fly scored Warren. Johnson contributed a run-scoring single to the cause as well.

Wooster led 5-1 through two, with Case Western Reserve's tally being unearned. Trapuzzano cruised from there, going the first five innings with just the one run coming across on four hits and two walks, compared to six strikeouts. The senior improved to 25-6 all-time while moving up three spots to sixth-place on the school's career strikeout list (209).

Offensively, both Johnson and Sutton combined to go 4-for-7 on the day, and Karpen posted a 3-for-7, two-run, two-steal performance.

The Scots will not compete again until their spring break trip, which begins March 8.