Jamie Lackner celebrates his fourth-inning home run with teammate Ryan Ostendorf during the opening game of the NCAC Tournament, a 9-3 Wooster win. (photo courtesy of Bret Billhardt of the North Coast Athletic Conference)

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio – The College of Wooster scored in each of the first three innings, then broke the game open with a five-run fifth to take a 9-0 lead and went on to a 9-3 victory over Ohio Wesleyan University in the opening game of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament at VA Memorial Stadium on Thursday afternoon.

The win puts Wooster (31-10) into the winners' bracket game, which is scheduled for Friday, beginning at noon.

Already ahead 4-0, the Fighting Scots scored all five of their runs in the bottom of the fifth with two outs. With runners on second and third, Jake Fling came through with the first key hit of the inning, driving one past the third baseman for a double that scored Drew Tornow, who had led off with a bunt single, and Jacob Solomon. After Joey Gilmore took the second hit by pitch of the inning, Michael Wielansky hammered a 2-2 offering above the 15-foot wall in left field for his sixth homer of the season and a nine-run Wooster cushion.

Michael Houdek kept Ohio Wesleyan (27-13) off the board through six innings, extending his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 21. The Bishops finally got to the junior lefty in the top of the seventh, as the first three batters reached safely, including a Tyler Flaherty RBI double, which was followed by a sacrifice fly.

Houdek was later replaced that frame by Hank Schlueter. After yielding back-to-back hits, Schlueter induced an inning-ending force play, with the Scots ahead by six, and then the senior southpaw got three quick outs in the eighth as well as the first hitter of the ninth before turning it over to Zach Woullard for the last two.

Houdek improved to 8-2, allowing the three runs on five hits and five walks through 6.2 innings.

Wooster's early 4-0 advantage was courtesy of single unearned tallies in both the first and second and two runs in the fourth when Jamie Lackner drove one the opposite way for a solo shot to right-center, marking his fifth homer this spring, and Ryan Ostendorf singled and came all the way around on a Tornow two-bagger.

Fling (2-for-5, 3 RBI), Wielansky (2-for-5, 4 RBI), Ostendorf (2-for-4), and Tornow (2-for-5) all recorded two-hit games to lead the Scots' offense.

Wooster's opponent for Friday will be the winner of Thursday night's affair between Denison University and DePauw University.