Craig Day

Zac Mathie

The College of Wooster's offense was rolling early at No. 8 ranked Heidelberg University, scoring  eight runs through three innings, but could not maintain that momentum and eventually fell by a 17-9 count in the teams' second non-conference meeting of the year, this time held at Peaceful Valley Field Thursday in Tiffin, Ohio.

Wooster (24-13) scored once in the top of the first when Brendan Taylor sent a two-out single into left field to plate Jarrod Mancine, who had led off the game with a base knock.

During the second inning, the Fighting Scots put their power on display with a pair of two-run homers as Craig Day delivered an 0-2 pitch over the left-field fence and Zac Mathie pulled an 0-1 offering beyond the right-field wall as part of a five-run frame that gave the visitors a 6-0 advantage.

Heidelberg (31-7) tallied a couple of runs in the bottom of the second, then Wooster pushed its lead back to six during the top of the third. Day had a key hit again, a one-out double into left-center that advanced a runner to third base, which was followed by a Bryan Miller RBI grounder. Day scored when Mancine singled for the third time in as many innings to make it an 8-2 game.

Unfortunately for the Scots, it was almost all 'Berg from that point on. A four-run bottom of the third pulled them within 8-6, and in the fifth inning, they exploded for five more runs while going ahead for the first time at 11-9.

Heidelberg went on to pad its lead with three in the sixth, two more in the seventh, and another run in the eighth.

Mancine finished 3-for-5, marking his third consecutive game with at least three hits, while Taylor also had a three-hit day (3-for-4).

Next for Wooster, it will host Ohio Wesleyan University (12-22) in a North Coast Athletic Conference Cross-Over Series this weekend, with the winner of the three-game set advancing to the NCAC Tournament.