No. 2 Ranked Wooster Survives Marietta Comeback Bid

Dan Skulina

Behind two home runs by Dan Skulina (Hinckley, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit), The College of Wooster, ranked No. 2 in NCAA Div. III baseball, jumped out to a 6-0 lead and then the Fighting Scots held off a furious comeback by Marietta College to prevail 8-7 in the regional rivals’ meeting Wednesday at Marietta, Ohio.

Skulina belted a solo shot to right in the second for his first homer of the year and a 1-0 lead. Wooster (17-1) added another in its next at bat, when Jake Sankal (Mentor, Ohio / Mentor) singled in Bubba O’Donnell (Cincinnati, Ohio / St. Xavier), who had found some space down the left-field line for a one-out, two-bagger.

Still 2-0 entering the fifth, the Scots padded their cushion. Matt Groezinger (Upper Arlington, Ohio / Upper Arlington) hit a leadoff home run, already his fourth on the young season, and one out later, Matthew Johnson (Orrville, Ohio / Orrville) doubled. He would eventually score on a two-out wild pitch.

In the top of the sixth, Skulina made it 6-0, delivering a two-run dinger to left field, however, Marietta’s offense came alive in the bottom of that frame. After their leadoff batter fouled out, the Pioneers next four strung together a walk, single, walk, and two-run single. Later, with two outs, Tyler Penwell, doubled in two more to cut Wooster’s lead to two (6-4).

The Scots answered, plating what turned out to be two important insurance runs in the seventh. After Matthew Pierce (Oklahoma City, Okla. / Casady School) earned a walk and stole second, Pat Christensen (Cincinnati, Ohio / Sycamore) and Skulina produced back-to-back RBI singles to double-up Marietta, 8-4.

The Pioneers, though, matched that with a pair of unearned tallies in their ensuing at bat, and Brennan Cribbins opened the bottom of the eighth with a homer to make it a one-run game (8-7).

Wooster would hang on, thanks to closer Mark Miller (Convoy, Ohio / Crestview), who notched his seventh save this spring. He overcame a one-out, two-base error while striking out two in the ninth.

Miller was the sixth to toe the mound for the Scots, as the coaching staff was looking to get several pitchers some mid-week work. Picking up his third win of the year (3-1) was Matt Barnes (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Langley), as he worked scoreless innings in the third, fourth, and fifth, yielding just three singles.

Jason Baumler was tagged with the loss (0-3), giving up four runs on seven hits in five innings.

Offensively, Skulina led all players with a 3-for-4, four-RBI outing. Johnson also went 3-for-4 in the win, while Justin Merryman, Cameron Cimino, Dominick Winters, and Cribbins each had two hits for Marietta.

Wooster will be right back in action Thursday, when it welcomes Baldwin-Wallace College (7-6) to Art Murray Field for the Scots’ home opener at 4 p.m.