Top-Ranked Scots Have Six NCAC Divisional Games This Week

Sheldon Steiner

The College of Wooster, still ranked No. 1 in the American Baseball Coaches’ Association/Collegiate Baseball NCAA Div. III poll, which comes out bi-weekly, has a busy stretch ahead with six North Coast Athletic Conference East Division games over the next five days. On Monday, April 2, the Fighting Scots will go back to Kenyon College (12-7, 1-2 NCAC East) and make-up their doubleheader, which was originally scheduled for Sunday, April 1, starting at 2 p.m. Then, Wooster will have its four-game NCAC home series against Oberlin College (7-10, 2-0 NCAC East), as the squads play doubleheaders Friday and Saturday, April 6-7, beginning at 1 p.m. each day. The Scots are looking to continue their remarkable run against the Yeomen, as they have not lost to Oberlin since 1986 – a stretch of 64 meetings.

Last Week: Wooster continued its best start in school history, picking up a couple more wins to improve to 17-0 overall, including 5-0 in the NCAC East Division.

On March 29, a seven-run fifth inning paved the way for the Scots’ 18-12 non-conference win at Baldwin-Wallace College. It was a sloppily played game, as the two teams combined for 13 errors, including nine by Wooster, which marked the second-most in school history, and the pitching staff’s combined to walk 18 batters. Noteworthy, Scot junior left fielder Jake Sankal (Mentor, Ohio / Mentor) earned four bases on balls, tying a team record for a single-game. As for the game itself, Baldwin-Wallace pulled within 7-6 via a two-run bottom of the fourth and got two of Wooster’s first three batters out in the fifth. Then, the next eight reached safely, with the most damage being done by Sheldon Steiner (Dalton, Ohio / Central Christian) and John Quimby (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny). They each doubled, with Steiner’s two-bagger scoring two and Quimby’s three, and the Scots had taken a commanding 14-6 lead by the time the inning was over. Wooster, which scored at least once in each of the first seven innings, plated two more runs in both the sixth and seventh to extend its advantage to 18-8. Individually, Steiner had a career-high five RBI, while Quimby and Shaun Swearingen (Hilliard, Ohio / Bishop Watterson) each drove in four runs. Swearingen and Oliver Enos (Charlottesville, Va. / The Covenant School) finished with a game-high three hits apiece, going 3-for-6 and 3-for-5, respectively. Also producing multi-hit games were Steiner, Pat Christensen (Cincinnati, Ohio / Sycamore), Quimby, and Bubba O’Donnell (Cincinnati, Ohio / St. Xavier) at 2-for-6, 2-for-3, 2-for-4, and 2-for-5, respectively. On the mound, Scot reliever John Warren (New Castle, Pa. / Union Area) picked up his first career win, giving up just one earned run over 3.0 innings and leaving with a 16-8 lead. Also of note, Wooster’s Jeff Kaatz (Huron, Ohio / Huron) pulled the rare feat of striking out four batters in an inning during the bottom of the seventh.

On March 31, the Scots scored seven runs during the seventh, which included an NCAA Div. III record as Wooster was on the receiving end of six hit by pitches that inning, to break open a close game, and triumphed 12-3 at NCAC East Division foe Kenyon College. They were slated to play a doubleheader, but rain postponed the nightcap and due to conference rules it will not be made up. The Scots held a 5-3 lead going into the top of the seventh, when the first nine batters resulted in a walk, six hit by pitches, and two sacrifice flies, all of which plated four runs. Then, Swearingen hit a bases-loaded single to left, which scored two, and an error by the outfielder allowed one more to come in for a nine-run cushion. Prior to that, the game was closely played. Wooster jumped out to a 4-0 lead on a Christensen solo home run in the second and a three-run shot by Steiner in the third. Kenyon answered in the bottom of the fourth, tallying three runs on Adam Samson (Orrville, Ohio / Orrville), the Scots’ ace. Samson went the distance and did not give up another run, yielding eight hits in all. He struck out seven, while improving to 3-0. Swearingen, Steiner, and Quimby each finished with two hits for Wooster’s offense.