LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Two picked off baserunners helped The College of Wooster baseball team out immensely in game two, with the Fighting Scots taking the nightcap 5-4 after dropping Saturday's opener against Spalding University 15-7 at Derby City Field.

Wooster (1-1) turned to senior Dylan Carr to protect a 5-3 lead in the seventh inning of game two. The right-hander hit Spalding's (4-5) Michael Speck, but picked him off. That out proved huge with Ethan Tuttle lacing a two-out double down the left field line two batters later. Had Speck been on base at the time, the game would have been tied at five.

In the bottom of the ninth, sophomore Eli Westrick collected his first save, striking out a pair of Golden Eagles in the process. Sandwiched in between the strikeouts was a bloop single by Matthew McDowell. Westrick caught pitch runner Everett Cogan straying too far from first for an easy pickoff for the second out in the frame.

Wooster's big spot offensively came in the fourth. Triples by seniors Alex Gasper and Michael Thomas fueled the offense, with Thomas' plating a run. Gasper touched home on Westrick's RBI fielder's choice, while Thomas scored on senior Ben Gbur's knock up the middle.

Senior Tyler Chumita put Wooster on the board in the third with a sacrifice fly, while Westrick motored around the bases for an RBI triple that made it 5-2 in the fifth.

Senior Colin Springer (1-0) picked up the win in the nightcap. The right-hander allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits in six innings. The senior struck out six on the day, and the Scots finished with 11 strikeouts overall. Sophomore Corey Knauf struck out the side during a scoreless eighth inning.

Garrett Mathews (0-2) was saddled with the loss. He struck out eight, but allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits in 3 1/3 innings on the mound.

Wooster scored twice in the first inning of game one. Junior Dane Camphausen laced a single through the left side to knock in senior Ben Hines, who reached on an error, stole second, and moved to third on Chumita's infield single. Next, senior Dominic Stilliana lifted a sacrifice fly out to right.

Spalding scored six times in the fifth, and six more runs touched home in the sixth, with the Golden Eagles leading 15-5 at that point. Gbur's eighth career three-bagger brought in Thomas in the eighth, and the Scots' center fielder later scored on a wild pitch. Wooster made things interesting in the ninth by loading the bases before rolling into a game-ending double play.

Peyton Hood (1-2) earned the win after allowing five runs (two earned) on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Senior Mitchell Reardon (0-1) went four-plus, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits. Junior Owen Barnard and first-year Josh Livengood kept Spalding off the scoreboard in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively.

Gbur led Wooster's lineup on the day, going 4-for-9 with four RBI and two extra base hits, one of which was a two-run blast in the sixth inning of game one. Chumita's five hits led Wooster, and four of those game in the season lid-lifter. In fact, Chumita and Gbur combined for seven of the Scots' 10 base knocks in game one. Hines' two hits led the Scots in the nightcap.

Spalding's McDowell and Tuttle combined to go 9-for-15 with nine RBI, five runs, three doubles, three walks, and a triple.

Next, Wooster's off to Florida for 10 games, starting with Saturday, March 12's 5:30 p.m. tilt with Sewanee: The University of the South (2-7).