Steve Hagen

Eddie Reese

The fifth inning was the difference in The College of Wooster's 11-6, 11-3 sweep of Kenyon College on Friday afternoon, as the Fighting Scots combined for 10 of their runs that inning, seven in the opener to overcome a 3-0 deficit and three in the second game to extend a 3-2 lead, during the teams' first North Coast Athletic Conference East Division doubleheader of 2013, played at Gambier, Ohio.

Having gone down in order each of the first four innings of game one and trailing 3-0 entering the fifth, Wooster (9-5, 2-0 NCAC East) suddenly got hot at the plate. Zac Mathie broke up the perfect game with a single to left field, then Billy Farrow followed suit, and after an out, the Fighting Scots strung together five consecutive singles by Johnathan Ray, Bryan Miller, Jarrod Mancine, and John McLain, scoring five runs in the process to take a 5-3 advantage.

The big blow, though, came from the bat of Eddie Reese as he drove a two-run triple into right-center for a four-run cushion.

That turned out to be just enough offensive support for the pitching staff. Keenan White improved to 4-0, allowing four runs (three earned) and striking out four before being lifted after 4.2 innings. Jon Rothman and Zach Klein made the lead hold up, each yielding a single run over 1.1 and 1.0 innings, respectively.

Wooster's offense gave the relievers some extra breathing room with two runs in both the sixth and the seventh, the latter featuring a two-run double from Shane Gallagher.

The Scots rode the momentum into the nightcap, banging out 17 hits and receiving a nine-inning complete game on the mound from Steve Hagen.

Craig Day highlighted Wooster's 3-2 lead with a solo home run during the second inning.

As the game moved into the fifth, Mancine drew a leadoff walk, McLain legged out an infield hit, and Reese brought them both in via a double into the left-center gap. Reese came around on a Mathie base knock, putting the Scots more comfortably ahead at 6-2 midway through the contest.

Wooster padded its lead with two in the sixth via Reese and Gallagher RBI singles, and later, put the game completely out of reach with a three-run ninth, highlighted by a Farrow double and a Ray two-run single.

Hagen went the distance for the fourth time in his career, but the first time in a nine inning game. The three runs came in on six hits, and he struck out six without issuing a walk while improving to 2-1.

Reese paced the offense on the day, combining to go 5-for-9 with two doubles, a triple, and five RBI, while Ray was 4-for-8 with four RBI. Tallying three hits apiece were Mancine (3-for-7), Mathie (3-for-7), and Gallagher (3-for-3 with three RBI).

The two teams will complete their annual four-game series with another twinbill Saturday, starting at noon in Gambier, Ohio.