Jacob Solomon

Michael Whitaker

The College of Wooster set the tone during both ends of its doubleheader with Kenyon College, scoring the first 10 runs in the opener and later holding off a massive rally by the hosts to prevail 17-16 and then plating six runs in the top of the first of game two en route to another high-scoring win, 16-9, as the Fighting Scots swept the Lords to win the teams' North Coast Athletic Conference East Division series on Easter Sunday in Gambier, Ohio.

They split Saturday's twinbill, but now Wooster (18-3, 6-2 NCAC East) has taken command of the division with a two-game lead over second-place Kenyon (14-10, 4-4 NCAC East), and just two four-game sets remaining against Hiram College (7-14, 3-3 NCAC East) and Oberlin College (9-14, 0-2 NCAC East).

Frank Vance and Jacob Solomon smacked three-run and two-run homers in Sunday's very first inning, Jamie Lackner contributed a solo shot in the second, and a four-run third that featured RBI singles from Kenny Reckart and Vance resulted in a 10-0 lead through two and one-half innings.

The Lords chipped away and made a game of it with six unanswered runs during the bottom of the third and fourth, then the Scots seemingly took command again by plating fifth in the fifth and two more in the sixth. The fifth inning was highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of Tyler Schuch, while John McLain and Ryan Ostendorf drove in runs, each with sixth inning singles.

That added up to a 17-6 Wooster lead, with Kenyon having just two at bats left. The Lords exploded, though, for a 10-run bottom of the sixth, as they piled up 10 runs on six hits, four walks, and a hit by pitch. The big blow was a two-out, bases-clearing double by Phillip Nam that made it a one-run game.

Nanak Saran stranded Nam at second, and after a scoreless top of the seventh, Scot closer Michael Whitaker finished off the Lords' comeback bid with a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning, which included two strikeouts.

Wooster's early six-run offensive outburst in the nightcap, all came with two outs. With just a runner on first, Lackner kept the first inning alive by taking a hit by pitch, then Joey Gilmore, McLain, and Solomon each provided RBI hits, with Solomon's being a two-run double. After a walk, Ian Vernier and Jake Kail delivered back-to-back run-scoring singles for the 6-0 lead.

The Scots increased their advantage to 8-0 in the top of the third, thanks in part to a Vance double, and 10-2 in the top of the fourth, when Solomon homered for the second time on the day, but again Kenyon made things interesting in the later innings.

Matt Von Roemer's three-run double during the bottom of the seventh brought the home team within 12-9.

Wooster made the call to Whitaker at the start of the eighth, and after a 1-2-3 frame, the offense provided a four-run ninth, keyed by Chris Fafalios's two-run two-bagger.

Whitaker stayed on for the bottom of the inning and notched his third save of the Kenyon series and sixth of the season, while picking up wins on the day were middle reliever Jacob Pries (1-1) first and starter Danny Reese (3-1) in the second game.

Accumulating five hits apiece during the doubleheader were Vance (5-for-12, seven RBI) and Solomon (5-for-11, six RBI). Solomon's day was especially noteworthy, as those were the first two homers of his career and he also doubled twice.

The Scots will not compete again until next weekend when they travel to Chillicothe, Ohio, for a neutral-site, three-game series versus Wabash College (10-13).