Shane Gallagher

Mike Ries

After ending up on the short end of a 1-0 pitcher's duel in the opener, The College of Wooster bombarded Hiram College with 11 extra-base hits, including four home runs, and scored a season-high 26 runs during a 26-1 rout as the teams split their North Coast Athletic Conference East Division doubleheader played Saturday afternoon at Bob Cene Park in Struthers, Ohio.

Wooster (14-9, 5-1 NCAC East) wasted little time in bouncing back from the game one loss, as Jarrod Mancine began the nightcap with an infield single, then Shane Gallagher and Eddie Reese followed with back-to-back triples. Reese scored on a groundout for an early 3-0 lead.

A Gallagher double put another tally on the board in the second inning, and the Fighting Scots essentially put the game out of reach with a seven-run third. That frame was headlined by two three-run homers, the first by John McLain and the second coming off the bat of Reese, which gave Wooster an 11-0 cushion.

The Scots' third three-run home run of the game came during a six-run fifth when Billy Farrow cleared the bases with his first round tripper of the season, 13th of his career. He is now 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, four RBI, and three walks since returning from injury.

Kenny Reckart and Kevin Hagen each stroked RBI doubles during the seventh inning, with Hagen's driving in three, and in the ninth, Mike Ries, a senior whose career was slowed by a significant knee injury, belted a solo shot for the first home run of his career.

On the mound, Nick Buckingham cruised to the win (4-1). He only gave up one unearned run during seven innings of five-hit ball and struck out three before handing it over to a pair of relievers in the eighth and ninth.

In the first game, the teams traded scoreless frames until Hiram's (7-13, 4-6 NCAC East) final at bat, when George Blake delivered a one-out double, pinch runner Kyle Torok moved to third on a grounder, and Jaren Bell came through with a clutch two-out single to win the game in the bottom of the seventh.

Matt Felvey took the hard-luck loss (3-2) in the second complete game of his career. Prior to the seventh, he scattered five hits and set down five on strikes without a walk.

Mancine produced one of Wooster's four hits in the opener and totaled a team-high four for the day (4-for-6), Reese walked in all three of his plate appearances during the first game and went 3-for-5 with six RBI in the second, and Vance continued to swing a hot bat, combining for a 3-for-5 outing.

Hiram and Wooster will complete their four game NCAC divisional set with another twinbill Sunday, switching locations to Eastwood Field in Niles, Ohio, where they'll start at noon.