WINTER HAVEN, Florida – The College of Wooster baseball team steamrolled then-fifth-ranked North Central College 18-2 on St. Patrick's Day, and sophomore Corey Knauf did something no Fighting Scot pitcher had done in nearly 80 years in the Black and Gold's Florida finale on Friday afternoon. Wooster went 3-2 over the second half of its spring break trip with an 11-10 loss to University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, a 2-1 loss against Washington & Jefferson College, a 10-3 win over State University of New York at Cobleskill, and a 16-4 rout of Williams College following the North Central triumph.
Knauf (2-1) , pitching in Chain O' Lakes Stadium, former spring training ballpark of the Cleveland Guardians, struck out a career-high 15 batters in the March 25 win over Williams. The right-hander's total is the third-highest single-game mark in program history, and it is the most strikeouts since Stan Partenheimer's 19-strikeout game in 1944. Knauf struck out the side in the first and second innings, and had seven strikeouts through two frames, due to an Eph batter reaching via a passed ball in the second. The strikeout haul climbed to 10 in the third inning, then Knauf struck out two in the fifth, two in the sixth, and Nate Orluk watched a pitch zoom by for a called third strike that ended the game in the seventh.
Wooster (8-4) provided plenty of run support for Knauf, hammering Will Jeffries (0-1) around to the tune of six runs on six hits in the bottom of the first. Sophomore second baseman Eli Westrick's base knock made it a 3-0 game, and two batters later, senior first baseman Alex Gasper doubled the lead via a three-run home run.
The Scots kept plugging away, upping the lead to 10-1 in the second, then 14-3 in the third against Williams. Gasper's big day continued with a RBI single in the second, while Westrick put a charge into a Jacob Martin pitch for a two-run round-tripper in the third.
Knauf allowed five hits and just one earned run in the complete-game effort against Williams.
Wooster hung four crooked numbers on the scoreboard on North Central. The Scots were already comfortably ahead 7-2, then tacked on seven more in the seventh, with all the damage coming with two outs. Junior first baseman Dane Camphausen capped the outburst with a three-run homer, which marked his third longball in a two-game stretch. Prior to the blast, senior short stop Tyler Chumita laced a two-run single that brought in senior center fielder Ben Gbur and senior right fielder Ben Hines, who each had RBI singles of their own moments earlier.
Gbur and Hines were both hit by North Central's Luke Lamm to start the game, and the Cardinals' ace never recovered before exiting after 3 2/3 innings with seven runs (six earned) on his line. Junior third baseman Dean Brown plated the game's first run with a RBI single, and sophomore designated hitter Grant Mitchell made it 3-0 two batters later via a double.
Senior Mitchell Reardon (2-1) earned the win against North Central. He allowed two unearned runs on five hits in six innings. Westrick went the rest of the way with three inning of four-hit shutout baseball. The right-hander struck out five en route to earning his second save of the year.
Wooster snapped a two-game slide on March 24 with the 10-3 win against Cobleskill. The Scots broke the game open with a four-spot in the seventh, with that upping the lead to 10-1. Chumita's two-run single brought in senior catcher Michael Thomas, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and Gbur, who followed Thomas' at bat up with a double.
Senior Dylan Carr (1-0) earned the win against Cobleskill. He allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits in six-plus innings. Carr struck out six on the afternoon.
Stevens Point rallied for five runs in the eighth, tied the game on Aaron Simmons' one-out single in the ninth, and walked-off Wooster on Matt Baumann's RBI single in the 10th on March 21. Stevens Point had a chance to win in the ninth, but Bradley Comer hit a grounder to third, and Brown was able to come home with the throw in time to retire Simmons.
Wooster jumped out to a 7-2 lead against Stevens Point. Gasper's two-run homer in the third and Mitchell's two-run double in the first helped the Scots build out the lead.
Knauf took the loss, allowing two runs on two hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief.
Runs were at a premium during Wooster's March 23 game against Washington & Jefferson. Wooster's run came across in the first on a double play ball, while Washington & Jefferson plated the go-ahead tally in the sixth. President relief pitchers Henry Litman and Dante DiMatto combined for eight strikeouts in three innings of one-hit shutout ball. Reardon did his part to keep Wooster in the game, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits in seven innings of work. Junior Christian Johnston supported Reardon with two innings of shutout relief.
Hines swung a hot stick for Wooster, going 11-for-17 (.647) with nine runs scored over the final five games in Florida. Chumita's 10 RBI marked the team-high, and he went 9-for-22 (.409) with five runs scored. Camphausen hit .412 (7-for-17) with seven RBI and seven runs scored. As a team, Wooster swiped 13-of-15 bases, with Gbur finishing 5-for-5 and Chumita 4-for-4.
Next, Wooster hosts John Carroll University (6-9) in its home opener on Tuesday, March 29 at 4 p.m.