Sophomore Michael Houdek fires a pitch in en route to his first career shutout on Saturday.

WOOSTER, Ohio – Michael Houdek threw a complete-game shutout in an 11-0 opening victory and Jake Fling hit a grand slam in the second inning of game two's 15-2 triumph, headlining The College of Wooster's sweep of North Coast Athletic Conference East Division opponent Hiram College on a sunshine-filled, unseasonably warm Saturday at Art Murray Field.

After Wooster's (22-5, 8-2 NCAC East) bats provided him six runs in the bottom of the first, Houdek cruised through the Hiram (7-20, 3-9 NCAC East) lineup. The southpaw limited the Terriers to five hits, all singles, through the seven innings, and he stranded two runners on base in the third, fourth, and fifth. The latter was the closest they got to scoring, but Houdek ended a base-loaded threat with a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play.

Houdek improved to 5-0 this season, and the shutout marked the first of the sophomore's career.

At the plate, the Fighting Scots batted around in the very first inning. Fling started things by singling up the middle, Joey Gilmore walked, Frank Vance found a hole through the right side for the first run, and Jamie Lackner drew a walk to load the bases, then John McLain cleared them by driving a triple into the right-center gap. Jacob Solomon drove home McLain to make it 5-0 before an out had been recorded, and later in the frame, Gilmore took a bases-loaded walk for another score.

Wooster added single tallies in the second and fourth and three in the sixth, keyed by a two-run Gilmore double.

In the nightcap, the Scots again struck for some early offense, with Fling providing the big blow. Vance led off the second with a double the opposite way (left-center) and scored on an error during a sacrifice bunt by Ian Vernier. Next, Kenny Reckart singled deep in the hole to load the bases and Fling sent one down the right-field line that stayed just fair and high enough for the 5-0 cushion.

Wooster added an unearned run in the third, and then the Terriers chipped away at the lead a little, scoring once in the fifth and once in the seventh.

The Scots put the game away with a nine-run bottom of the seventh. After Lackner singled and Vance walked, Hiram went to its bullpen to no avail as Tyler Schuch and Vernier provided one-out RBI base knocks to extend the lead to 8-2. After a Reckart walk, Fling came up with the bases loaded again and delivered a two-run double this time for an eight-run advantage.

Before the inning was over, Vance tripled in a run to induce another pitching change and pinch hitter Kevin Hagen contributed an RBI single, which turned out to be the final score.

On the mound, starter Zach Woullard went the first six innings, overcoming a bases-loaded jam during the fifth with just one run allowed. That was the lone run the junior right-hander gave up, as he earned the victory (2-1).

Fling finished the day 5-for-10 with six RBI and Vance was 4-for-9 with two RBI.

The two teams will complete their annual four-game series on Sunday at Art Murray Field, with first pitch bumped up to 11 a.m., in order to try to avoid the rain.