WASHINGTON, Pennsylvania – Mount Aloysius College struck late to upend The College of Wooster baseball team 8-6 on Thursday evening at Washington & Jefferson College's Ross Memorial Park.
Wooster (5-10) had the tying run at the dish in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Mount Aloysius' (5-11) Tyler Quade struck out first-year pinch hitter Colin Leslie for the final out of the game. First-year third baseman Ryan Kramer legged out an infield single on a grounder that was hit deep in the hole at shortstop to lead off the inning and scored on junior designated hitter Bryn Langley's sacrifice fly. Senior right fielder Dean Brown moved Kramer over to third on a single to center field.
A leadoff walk started things for Mount Aloysius in the top of the ninth inning, and a Wooster throwing error put the go-ahead run 90 feet from home. Tyler Suder delivered the go-ahead single, while Aidan Bell and James Rice had RBI singles that built the lead out to 8-5.
Wooster caught a break in the seventh inning when Josh Robinso broke for home on a payoff pitch from first-year Logan Creamer to Ryan Bushey. Bushey squared for the squeeze bunt, and pulled the bat back with the ball out of the zone. Wooster senior Riley McErlean alertly chased Robinso back towards third base, and the Mounties' baserunner could not outrun the Scots' catcher.
Wooster tied the game at five in the sixth inning. Sophomore center fielder Leo Widtmann placed a two-run single into right center that plated Langley and McErlean, who reached via a double and walk, respectively. Junior Grant Mitchell punched a first-pitch offering from Luke Bailey through the left side of the infield that scored Widtmann.
Brown belted a solo homer for Wooster's first run of the night in the second inning, while Widtmann's RBI single scored Langley, who reached via a single and stole second base.
Langley and Widtmann combined to go 5-for-8 with four RBI and three runs scored. Brown and Kramer had multi-hit nights for Wooster. Johnston (1-2) took the loss after allowing two runs on two hits in 1 2/3 innings.
Bell and Suder had three hits and two RBI apiece for Mount Aloysius. Quade (2-2) scored the win after allowing one run on two hits in two innings of work, during which he struck out three. Offensively, Quade had two hits and a team-high three runs scored.
Next, Wooster opens North Coast Athletic Conference play against Oberlin College (6-6). The teams announced their doubleheader at Oberlin has been bumped to Sunday, April 2 with a noon start due to the forecasted weather in the area on Saturday, April 1.