Matthew Johnson

The College of Wooster kicked off its 2010 postseason in fine fashion Thursday night, using a four-run second inning to take the lead and then staving off a series of rallies by Wabash College en route to an 11-6 win in the teams' first game of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament at Chillicothe, Ohio.

Wooster (32-7), which made a run all the way to the NCAA Div. III national championship game last spring, will be right back on the field at VA Memorial Stadium Friday to face Denison University (22-16), a 5-1 victor over Allegheny College (24-11) earlier in the day.

After Wabash (18-22) left the bases loaded in the top of the second, Wooster took advantage of an error during the bottom of the frame and plated four unearned runs. Three came in on consecutive two-out singles by Shane Swearingen, Matthew Johnson, and Luke Sutton for the early 4-0 advantage.

The Little Giants quickly responded, cutting the lead in half during their half of the third. Wooster also scored two in the third, as Matt Groezinger led off with a triple off the top of the wall in right-center and then Greg Van Horn brought him the final 90 feet with a double down the left-field line. Van Horn would later score on a sacrifice fly, giving the Scots a 6-2 cushion.

Wooster extended its lead to five in the fourth. Swearingen and Johnson notched back-to-back singles to start the inning, and Swearingen eventually trotted home on another sacrifice fly.

John Holm of Wabash brought his squad within 7-4 via a two-run homer in the fifth, only to see the Scots answer with two of their own in the home half of that inning. With two outs and nobody on, Chris Wood started the rally via a single and stolen base, and he would score on an error by the second baseman. Wooster added another unearned run when Sutton singled in Swearingen to make it a 9-4 game.

The Little Giants kept battling as they loaded the bases in their next at bat and John Pennington delivered a two-run single into right-center to pull within three once again. At that point, Tyler Fugate was summoned from the bullpen and he picked off Pennington to avert further trouble.

Johnson helped finish off Wabash with a two-run homer during the bottom of the seventh,which also plated Swearingen.

After flying out in his first at bat, ending a streak of 10 consecutive hits, which tied a school record, Johnson stayed hot, winding up 4-for-5 with three RBI. Also tallying multi-hit nights were Sutton (2-for-3 with three RBI), Van Horn (2-for-4 with an RBI), and Swearingen (2-for-3 with an RBI).

On the mound, starter Justin McDowell picked up the win (8-2), despite allowing six runs on eight hits and four walks in 5.2 innings. Fugate pitched the remainder and kept the Little Giants off the scoreboard while scattering just two hits and striking out three without a walk for his fourth save.

Wabash's Chris Deig had a 3-for-4 effort at the plate and Andrew Swart took the loss (4-5), thanks in part to his defense. Only three of the nine runs credited to him over 4.2 innings were earned.

Friday's Denison-Wooster winners' bracket game is scheduled for a noon start.