Jeremy Ludemann
Senior Sports Writer
Wooster’s baseball team was searching for consistency in their four-game series with Hiram last weekend. With midweek losses to nationally ranked Case Western Reserve University and regional power Baldwin-Wallace University, the Scots were unable to put together complete performances. Similar to the Black and Old Gold’s 2-0 loss to Case last Wednesday, Wooster was unable to generate any offense in a 1-0 defeat to Hiram in the first game of Saturday’s twinbill.
The Scots’ bats were as quiet as church mice in the high noon affair as Hiram pitchers Pat Rhodes and Tanner Gilchrist were able to shutout Wooster’s vaunted offense.
The Black and Old Gold’s uncharacteristic loss to the Terriers set the stage for a crucial game two, as the Scots were at-risk of losing their top position in the North Coast Athletic Conference Eastern Division standings to Allegheny College.
However, Wooster rose to the occasion and escaped their offensive woes in game two. The Scots racked up 26 runs on the Terriers and they started early, with Shane Gallagher ’14 and Eddie Reese ’14 both providing triples to propel the Black and Old Gold to a 4-0 lead after two innings. In the third, the Scots brought seven runs across home plate as both Trip McLain ’15 and Reese smacked three-run round-trippers to put the Scots up 11-0 at the end of the fourth. Wooster would give the scoreboard at Bob Cene Park another workout in the fifth, as the Scots scored six additional runs. Billy Farrow garnered his first round-tripper of the year, with his three-run blast making the score 17-1 with only four innings to play.
Powerful pitching was also a part of the Black and Old Gold’s equation for success on Saturday. Although Matt Felvey ’14 struck out five Terrier batters and only allowed five Hiram hits in six and two-third innings of work, Wooster’s batters could not mirror his sterling performance on the mound in their 1-0 loss in the opener. The case was completely different in the finale. The Scots’ Nick Buckingham ’17, a Wooster native, had the run support to go along with his brilliant effort on the bump. The first-year hurler only gave up one run in seven innings and located 68 of his 96 pitches in the strike zone.
In Saturday’s game two, the Scots finally found the winning elixir, as they hammered Hiram 26-1 for their most convincing triumph of the season. Wooster continued its winning ways on Sunday by scoring 26 additional runs over two games. With 8-5 and 18-1 decisions over the Terriers, the Black and Old Gold retained their control of first place in the NCAC Eastern Division standings and improved their overall mark to 16-9 for the season. After a much-needed rest this week, Wooster will travel to Lorain County today to take on the Oberlin Yeomen at noon in the first contest of a four-game NCAC Eastern Division weekend series.