Jamie Lackner

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster closed the regular season by thumping Wabash College for the second consecutive game, this time scoring 15 runs over the first two innings en route to a 23-10 triumph as the teams wrapped up their North Coast Athletic Conference Cross-Over Series on Sunday afternoon at Art Murray Field.

Wooster (33-7, 17-2 NCAC), which swept Wabash (12-26, 4-15 NCAC) by scores of 8-6 and 26-20 during Saturday's action, picked up right where it left off from game two when the offense broke out for 12 runs in the seventh and four in the eighth, as the Fighting Scots scored five times during Sunday's first inning and put a 10-spot on the scoreboard in the second. All told, that's 31 runs over a four-inning stretch, spanning the two games.

Jake Fling led things off with a single, Tyler Schuch doubled into the right-field corner, and Frank Vance hit one to deep center, resulting in a sacrifice fly, then Jamie Lackner drove one the opposite way for a two-run home run and 3-0 lead. Later in the first, Ryan Ostendorf sent a sharp single up the middle, plating Jaik Kail, who had walked, and Drew Tornow, who snuck one down the right-field line for a double.

Wooster essentially put the game out of reach during the second inning. Already ahead 5-1, the Scots' first five batters all reached safely, including Schuch's second double of the day which brought in two runs and Lackner's two-run single up the middle. The Little Giants attempted to limit the damage with back-to-back outs, only to see Wooster rally for six more runs, with Tornow, Kenny Reckart, and Schuch providing RBI singles and Vance a two-run triple.

The remaining offensive highlights for Wooster included Lackner's second homer of the afternoon and NCAA Div. III-leading 17th of the year as he belted a towering shot to the opposite field again (right-center) in the fourth inning and Jack Marousek's three-run blast in the eighth, which marked the freshman's first career home run.

Statistically, Schuch (3-for-4), Lackner (3-for-4), and Reckart (3-for-4) finished with three hits apiece, and Schuch and Lackner produced four and six RBI, respectively.

On the mound, Scot starter Danny Reese was steady over the first five innings. He yielded just two runs on five hits and struck out five en route to moving to 6-1 on the season.

The NCAC Tournament will begin Thursday at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio, with Wooster and Ohio Wesleyan University (27-11) facing off at 10 a.m.