Top-Ranked Scots Two Wins From Fourth-Straight NCAC Championship

Sheldon Steiner

The College of Wooster, which is No. 1 for the fourth consecutive ranking period in the bi-weekly American Baseball Coaches’ Association NCAA Div. III poll, will play for its fourth-straight North Coast Athletic Conference title Thursday and Friday, May 10-11. This year’s best-of-three championship series, which will take place in Granville, Ohio, will be a rematch from last season, as the Fighting Scots will face Ohio Wesleyan University (22-13) again. The first to win two games will be crowned conference champs, and thus receive the league’s automatic bid into one of the NCAA Div. III Regional Tournaments (May 16-19). The Scots have won exactly half (11) of the previous 22 NCAC championships, while Ohio Wesleyan is second to Wooster with eight, the last coming in 2003.

Last Week: The Scots won all four games they played last week, improving to 39-3 on the year, which is the best winning percentage (.929) in all of college baseball.

On May 1, freshman Matt Barnes (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Langley) struck out a career-high 11 and Wooster took advantage of six Ohio Northern University errors, resulting in a 9-2 victory for the Scots in Ada, Ohio. The non-conference game was scoreless until the top of the third when Josh Keller (Lima, Ohio / Shawnee) kick-started a four-run inning with a leadoff single to left. Pat Christensen (Cincinnati, Ohio / Sycamore) and Oliver Enos (Charlottesville, Va. / The Covenant School) followed with singles, the latter plating Keller. With one out, John Quimby (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny) provided a key hit, singling through the right side to score both Christensen and Enos, and Quimby would later account for an unearned run. Ohio Northern was still within four until the top of the ninth (6-2), when Shaun Swearingen (Hilliard, Ohio / Bishop Watterson) smacked a three-run homer after a foul ball had been dropped earlier in his at bat. Barnes, who now holds an 8-0 record, nearly went the distance, working eight innings and yielding the two runs on solo homers. He allowed four other hits, all singles, as well as two walks, while recording a double-digit strikeout total for the second time. Wooster’s offense, which included five unearned runs, was paced by Chirstensen, who went 3-for-5 with an RBI, Keller, who singled twice in six at bats, and Brandon Boesiger (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio / Cuyahoga Falls), who was 2-for-3 and also reached one other time via a walk.

On May 2, the Scots scored four runs in the top of the first en route to a 7-4 triumph at fellow northeastern Ohio foe John Carroll University, as Wooster completed its regular season with a non-league game. The Scots’ first two hitters reached via a walk and hit by pitch, and then Sheldon Steiner (Dalton, Ohio / Central Christian) delivered a two-run double to take a 2-0 lead before an out had been recorded. Enos would add a single, which plated Steiner, and came around himself on a Justin Thomas (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Shady Side Academy) double. John Carroll mounted a comeback, pulling within 4-3 through three innings, but Wooster scored two key runs in the top of the fourth to retake control of the game. A hit by pitch and a sacrifice bunt put Matthew Johnson (Orrville, Ohio / Orrville) in scoring position, and with two outs, Swearingen came through with an RBI double. Swearingen scored to make it 6-3 via a Steiner single to the right side. With the Blue Streaks attempting to rally again in the fifth, John Warren (New Castle, Pa. / Warren Area) took over on the mound with one run already having come in and the bases loaded with one out. He induced the next batter into a double play and John Carroll only had one hit and two walks for the remainder of the game. Warren earned the win (3-1), throwing 2.2 scoreless innings of one-hit ball, while Mark Miller (Convoy, Ohio / Crestview) notched his fifth save. Steiner ended up 2-for-5 with three RBI, while Swearingen was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Johnson also posted a multiple-hit outing, going 2-for-3, in addition to reaching via the hit by pitch.

On May 5, the Scots’ pitching staff held Denison University to just nine hits over 18 innings, as Wooster started its postseason with a 2-1, 8-2 sweep in one NCAC Tournament semifinal series. Denison may have missed a golden opportunity in its very first at bat, as the first four batters reached base via three walks by Scot ace Adam Samson (Orrville, Ohio / Orrville) and an error. However, the Big Red only came away with one run, as Samson induced the next two into a pop fly to shallow right field and a double play. In the bottom of the second, Wooster took advantage of a Denison mistake in the field to tie the game with an unearned run, and the Scots went ahead an inning later when Swearingen singled sharply up the middle and Steiner drove a ball deep to the opposite field, clearing the left fielder for an RBI double. That would be all of the scoring in game one, as neither offense mounted much of a threat during the final six innings. Samson went the first eight, yielding the one unearned run and just five hits, and he didn’t walk another hitter while striking out four en route to improving to 9-0. Miller tossed a hitless ninth, including a pair of strikeouts, for his sixth save.

During the second game, Wooster received some early offense and steadily pulled away to the six-run decision. In the top of the second, the Scots’ first two grounded out, but then the next five reached base, highlighted by run-scoring singles by Dan Skulina (Strongsville, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit) and Jake Sankal (Mentor, Ohio / Mentor), for a 2-0 lead. Wooster’s third run came in the third on another two-out hit from Skulina, this time a double that plated Christensen, who had singled earlier in the frame. The Scots built their margin to 6-0 during the fourth inning. After a leadoff walk, four of the next six had base knocks, capped by a Quimby two-bagger that knocked out the Big Red’s starting pitcher, and Wooster coasted to the victory from there. The Scots got another quality start on the mound, as Anthony Trapuzzano (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Canevin Catholic) nearly had a complete game, going 8.1 innings and allowing two runs on four hits and one walk. He struck out six, while matching Samson’s record at 9-0. The offensive leaders on the day were Steiner, who went 5-for-9 with two doubles and two RBI in his final games at Art Murray Field, and Skulina, who was 4-for-7 with two RBI.

NCAC Player of the Week: For his efforts last week (see above), Wooster’s senior first baseman, Sheldon Steiner (Dalton, Ohio / Central Christian), was named North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week. Overall, he batted .500 (7-for-14) with three runs scored, three doubles, and five RBI in three games played. Steiner now leads Wooster in batting average (.396).