No. 1 Scots Wrap Up Regular Season, Then Host NCAC Tourney Semis

Adam Samson

Still sporting the best win-loss record in NCAA Div. III baseball at 35-3, The College of Wooster will close its 2007 regular season mid-week and then hopes to start a long postseason run this weekend when it hosts a North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal series. The Fighting Scots, ranked No. 1 in the Div. III coaches’ poll, will play back-to-back road games against Ohio Northern University (14-20) and John Carroll University (20-11) on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 1-2, respectively. Both non-league match-ups will begin at 4 p.m. Although they’ve been on the schedule in recent years, this will mark the first time Ohio Northern and Wooster have met on the diamond since 1985 when the Polar Bears knocked the Scots out of the NCAA Mideast Regional Tournament 8-7. Overall, Wooster owns a slight edge in the series (19-18-1). John Carroll has been a regular opponent of the Scots recently, winning four of five games with the Blue Streaks in the 2000s to improve to 16-4 all-time against them.

The NCAC Tournament semifinals will be played Saturday, May 5, and if necessary, Sunday, May 6. Wooster, winners of the East Division (15-0), hold one of the No. 1 seeds and will welcome the second-place team from the West Division to Art Murray Field for a best-of-three series, with the first of two nine-inning games Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. Entering this week, the Scots’ opponent is still to be determined, as Denison University (17-16, 10-4 NCAC West) and Wittenberg University (18-16, 8-6 NCAC West) will play for the final NCAC playoff spot Monday. The other semifinal match-up is set, as Ohio Wesleyan University (20-11, 13-3 NCAC West) will host Allegheny College (13-20, 9-7 NCAC East). The winners will advance to the conference’s championship series to be held in Granville, Ohio, on May 10-11. Wooster has won a league-best 11 NCAC titles, including three in a row after defeating Wittenberg 7-8, 5-0, 13-3 in the semifinals and sweeping Ohio Wesleyan 11-8, 9-8 in the finals last spring.

Last Week: Wooster went 2-2 last week, moving its overall record to 35-3.

On April 24, No. 17 ranked Otterbein College scored twice in the 12th inning and slipped past the No. 1 Scots 5-3 at Art Murray Field. After trailing early, Wooster took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth on a Bubba O’Donnell (Cincinnati, Ohio / St. Xavier) single, which scored Oliver Enos (Charlottesville, Va. / The Covenant School), who had also singled. The next half inning, though, Otterbein went ahead with a series of four consecutive hits to make it a 3-2 game. The Scots evened the score again in the bottom of the seventh, as with runners on first and second and two outs, John Quimby (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny) lined a single to center for a single tally (3-3). Wooster starter Anthony Trapuzzano (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Canevin Catholic) escaped a jam during the eighth, yielding a one-out triple and then striking the next two out. That was his last inning of work, as he allowed three runs on 10 hits and struck out eight without a walk. Both teams left runners in scoring position during the ninth and 10th innings before the Cardinals came through in the 12th.

On April 27, Shaun Swearingen (Hilliard, Ohio / Bishop Watterson) went 5-for-5, but it was not enough for the Scots, as Denison University scored two runs in both the bottom of the eighth and bottom of the ninth to upset Wooster 6-5 in Granville, Ohio. The Scots had taken a 3-0 lead just three batters into the game via a Sheldon Steiner (Dalton, Ohio / Central Christian) home run. Denison got one back in the bottom of the first only to see Wooster make it a three-run game again in the second when the second of Swearingen’s five singles on the day scored Brandon Boesiger (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio / Cuyahoga Falls). The Big Red eventually tied it up in the eighth (4-4), but the Scots took the momentum back in the top of the ninth. Swearingen had a leadoff single and scored on a two-out Josh Keller (Lima, Ohio / Shawnee) single past the second baseman, however, Denison went on to complete the comeback win. Swearingen’s five-hit day equaled a career high.

On April 29, Wooster snapped out of a recent offensive slide, combining for 23 hits, including 10 for extra bases, as the No. 1 ranked Scots swept past No. 30 Marietta College 14-0 and 7-3 at Art Murray Field. In addition to its offensive explosion, Wooster received a complete-game shutout from Adam Samson (Orrville, Ohio / Orrville) during the opener, as after giving up hits to the first two batters, he only allowed one more the rest of the game. For Samson, who struck out two and walked a pair, it marked his first shutout this spring and the third of his career. In the bottom of the first. Swearingen earned a walk, which was followed by a Steiner home run for the second consecutive game. Enos added a two-out double and came around to score on a bloop single from Justin Thomas (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Shady Side Academy), giving the Scots a 3-0 lead. Wooster’s next at bat saw Matthew Johnson (Orrville, Ohio / Orrville), making just his fifth start, triple down the right-field line for the first of his three extra-base hits, and he would score on a sacrifice fly, while Enos keyed a two-run third with his second two-bagger in as many at bats. Expanding on its 6-0 cushion in the fourth, Johnson, after starting a double play with a diving stab to his right to end Marietta’s previous at bat, crushed a leadoff homer to left, marking his first career home run. Swearingen would later add another run, scoring on a two-out passed ball. The Scots’ half of the fifth included another leadoff home run, this time from Quimby, as well as a Johnson double, three hit batsmen, and a two-run single from Pat Christensen (Cincinnati, Ohio / Sycamore), all of which added up to a 12-0 advantage.

Game two was much more competitive. Wooster got off to a quick start again, taking a 3-0 lead in the first, with the key hit being a two-run double from Thomas, however, Marietta would make it a one-run game, scoring once in the third and once more in the fifth. The Scots responded in their half of the fifth, as with two on and two outs, Christensen drove a double to left-center, plating both runners and pushing the lead back to three (5-2). Wooster got another complete game on the mound, with Trapuzzano going the distance for the third time this season. Two of the runs that scored were earned coming on six hits and a walk, and he struck out three. Offensively on the day, Swearingen reached safely six times in eight plate appearances, singling twice, walking three times, and getting hit by a pitch, while scoring four runs. Christensen led the team with four hits and five RBI.