Dan Harwood

Aaron Spidell

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The College of Wooster baseball team has played four games thus far in the Sunshine State, and the Fighting Scots are 2-2.

Wooster's (2-3) trip started with a 17-6 setback against Haverford College (6-5) on Monday at the Player Development Complex, a former spring training site for the Boston Red Sox. The Fords struck for six runs in the second and tacked on five tallies in the runs' column in the fourth inning.

Senior catcher Dan Gail was the bright spot for Wooster in the Florida opener, as he went 3-for-3 at the dish with a run and RBI. Gail's run-producing knock came in the form of a fifth-inning two-bagger that came after senior Harry Witwer-Dukes was hit by a pitch, and classmate Dan Harwood legged out a double of his own. Later in the fifth inning, senior Aaron Spidell's RBI groundout plated Harwood, while Gail eventually scooted home on a passed ball.

Wooster's other big highlight came in the ninth inning when first-year Dane Camphausen blasted a two-run round-tripper to centerfield.

Haverford's Zach Landry and Owen Plambeck combined to go 6-for-9 with seven RBI in the game. The Ford's Dylan Livingston picked up the win. He allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and struck out five in five innings of work.

Wooster junior Andrew Hill took the loss. He allowed six runs (all unearned) in 1 2/3 innings.

Wooster bounced back on Tuesday, when the Scots cruised past Bridgewater State University 19-2. The Scots wasted no time jumping on the board, as sophomore Ben Gbur laced a one-out single to left field, Harwood clubbed an RBI double to right center, and Gail blasted a two-run shot in the top of the first inning.

The Scots tacked on five more runs in the fifth, and then three more in the sixth, and at that point, Wooster led 11-0. Gail's two-run, fifth-inning two-bagger, senior Tyler Iversen's two-run, fifth-inning single, and Spidell's two-run, sixth-inning double were among the big knocks for the Scots.

Wooster broke the game wide open with a seven-spot in the eighth inning. The Scots did all that damage without an extra base hit, as Wooster had five singles and a walk in the frame, and took full advantage of three Bears' fielding miscues in the frame.

Gail, Harwood, and Spidell went a combined 7-for-12 with nine RBI and six runs scored in Tuesday's win. Junior Evan Faxon picked up the win after working six shutout innings, during which he scattered seven hits and struck out eight.

Joey Molis tallied three of Bridgewater State's 10 hits, while Patrick Cashin was saddled with the loss after allowing eight runs on eight hits in his 4 2/3 innings.

On Wednesday, Swarthmore College (10-2) continued to have Wooster's number, as the Garnet struck for five runs in the top of the first inning en route to a 14-4 victory. The two programs met for the first time at the 2018 NCAA Div. III World Series, and Swarthmore now leads the all-time series 3-0.

Spidell clubbed his first collegiate round-tripper in the fifth inning, and that marked Wooster's first run of the day. The Scots scored three more times in the bottom of the ninth inning. Junior Gabe Sherman plated two of the runs with a two-out double.

Four Scots had multiple hits against Swarthmore, with Harwood's three leading the way.

Cole Beeker went 4-for-6 with three RBI for the Garnet, while Ryan Warm struck out nine in his seven innings of work on the bump.

Wooster's four-game stretch concluded with a 6-1 win over the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Friday. Harwood's hot stick accounted for much of the damage. His third-inning single made it 1-0, and he logged a two-run double in the sixth inning that made it 5-1. For the game, the Scots' returning All-American was 4-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored.

Hill picked up his first win of the season. He allowed one unearned run on five hits in seven innings of work.

Brayden O'Connell had three of Merchant Marine's seven hits.

Of note, Wooster had all eight of its seniors – Ryan Farrell, Gail, Harwood, Iversen, Christian Julius, Spidell, Nick Strausbaugh, and Witwer-Dukes on the field for the bottom of the ninth inning. Thus far, this year's senior class has won 108 games (108-38). Wooster's seniors helped the program win three North Coast Athletic Conference Championships and were part of the program for one of the College's six Div. III World Series berths.