Jamie Lackner

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio – The College of Wooster routed Oberlin College 23-6 to force a "second" championship game in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, but the Yeomen bounced back for an 11-5 victory at VA Memorial Stadium on Friday.

Oberlin (18-26) receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Div. III Championships field, which begins play on Wednesday, May 13, while Wooster (36-9) now hopes for an at-large berth.

In the deciding game, the Yeomen struck early and often, highlighted by a five-run fourth inning that gave them a 9-2 advantage. Benjamin Whitener stroked a two-run double into the left-field corner and Danny Baldocci a two-run homer out to left that frame.

The Fighting Scots made things interesting, though, as they responded with a three-run fifth. Wooster loaded the bases with no outs, courtesy of two walks and a hit by pitch, then Jacob Solomon produced one tally via an RBI fielder's choice play. Ryan Ostendorf also hit one deep in the hole to short for an RBI single and Kenny Reckart made it a 9-5 game on another RBI fielder's choice.

There were several chances for Wooster to cut into the deficit more, but Oberlin stranded two runners in both the sixth and eighth innings, and in the bottom of the eighth, the Yeomen tacked on a couple of insurance runs to seal the outcome.

After battling back to eliminate Ohio Wesleyan University during Thursday's first game, 5-4 in 10 innings, the Scots broke open the "first" championship game early on as they scored twice in the first, five times in  the third, twice in the fourth, and four more in the fifth, adding up to an 11-2 cushion.

Among the early offensive highlights, Jamie Lackner powered a two-run double to center in the first, John McLain set the stage for the five-run third with a leadoff triple in the third, Ostendorf provided a fourth-inning RBI double, and McLain had another extra-base hit in the fifth with a double.

That was enough run support for Wooster's pitchers. Nanak Saran started and did not yield an earned run (two unearned) through 4.1 innings, and after Oberlin pulled within 11-4 with the bases loaded in the sixth, James Usher was summoned. Usher got out of that jam with minimal damage (the Yeomen scored two) and then went the rest of the way, finishing with a line of zero runs and two hits allowed over 3.2 innings.

Right after Oberlin made it a five-run margin, Wooster struck for two runs in the top of the seventh, with Lackner and Frank Vance each providing RBI singles.

Wooster's representatives on the all-tournament team were Michael Houdek, who yielded just two hits over seven-plus innings to win the opening game, Lackner (.667, 6 2B, 8 RBI), McLain (.294, 1 2B, 2 3B, 7 BB), and Ostendorf (.571, 2 2B, 5 RBI).