Baseball falls to Rhode Island College 3-2, defeats Gwynedd Mercy (Pa.) 13-2 on Spring Break trip
By Caleb Scott
AUBURNDALE, Fla. — The Ohio Northern baseball team fell 3-2 to Rhode Island College before posting a convincing 13-2 victory over Gwynedd Mercy (Pa.) on Friday afternoon at the RussMatt Invitational.
The Polar Bears move to 5-3 overall, while the Anchorman improve to 8-3 and the Griffins fall to 4-4.
In the first game, freshman Phil Buckingham (Wayne/Elmwood) led Northern at the plate as he 2-for-3, including a double and added an RBI.
Senior Kyle Schlade (Hamilton/Talawanda) also added two hits for ONU, including a double and also added an RBI.
Rhode Island broke a 0-0 tie in the top of the fifth inning as they scored twice to gain a 2-0 advantage.
After the Anchorman added another run in the top of the eighth, Northern would fight back with two runs in the bottom of the eighth.
With the bases loaded, Schlade singled to left field to bring home junior Brandon Kasberg (Mentor) and cut the lead to 3-1.
On the ensuing at bat, with the bases still loaded, Buckingham was walked and received and RBI as junior Jordan Bostater (Bryan) scored.
RIC would get out of the jam and go on to win a close 3-2 contest.
In the second contest, junior Dan Barna (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) led ONU at the plate as he went a perfect 4-for-4 and scored four runs.
Buckingham was 2-for-4 from the plate and added a game-high fives RBI and scored two runs in the victory.
Kasberg was 3-for-4 at the plate and added four RBI for the Polar Bears.
Gynedd Mercy got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the first inning to gain the early 1-0 advantage.
After a scoreless second inning, Northern would explode for nine runs in the third inning.
Barna, Buckingham, Bostater, Schlade, and Kasberg all recorded hits in the inning.
Northern would add two more runs in the top of the fifth as Buckingham and Kasberg each recorded an RBI to push the lead to 11-1.
In the top of the seventh inning, ONU added two insurance runs as Kasberg hit a 2-RBI double down the right field line to score Barna and freshman Jake Gherardi (Youngstown/Austintown-Fitch) and extend the gap to 13-1.
The Griffins got one back in the bottom of the seventh but were unable to rally as ONU went on the win the contest.
Freshman Jack Schaller (Bowling Green) improved his record to 1-0 on the year as he earned the victory on the mound, going 6.2 innings and fanning five batters in the victory.
Northern will wrap up its Spring Break trip as it takes on WPI in a double header Saturday morning at 9 am in Winter Haven, Fla.