Klinehoffer joins 100-Hit Club, pitching staff dominates as Baseball sweeps Baldwin Wallace 4-3, 2-0

By Tim Glon

ADA -- Ohio Northern got a slew of outstanding pitching performances in a 4-3, 2-0 baseball sweep Baldwin Wallace on a chilly Tuesday afternoon at Wander Field.

The Polar Bears improve to 18-6 overall and are 6-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference after extending their winning streak to seven games.

The Yellow Jackets fall to 17-9, 3-5.

Junior Luke Klinehoffer (Zanesville/John Glenn) picked up his 100th career base hit and freshman Scott Beaton (Novi, Mich.) picked up a 4-inning save to lead ONU in the Game 1 win.

Klinehoffer entered the day with 99 base hits and picked up his milestone base knock with an infield single to lead off the bottom of the first inning of Game 1.

Northern got on the board in the bottom of the first when Klinehoffer scored on a tapper down the first base line by senior Hayden Shenefield (Powell/Worthington Kilbourne).

ONU plated three more in the fifth to extend the lead to 4-0.

Senior Jason Burkett (Maumee), sophomore Phil Buckingham (Wayne/Elmwood) and senior Jordan Bostater (Bryan) had back-to-back-to-back RBIs in the frame.

Sophomore Nate Bye (Throntown, Ind./Western Boone) pitched into the sixth inning, allowing just four hits and three runs while striking out three, to improve to 3-1 on the season.

Beaton came on with none out in the sixth and allowed only two hits in four shutout innings to pick up his second save of the season.

In Game 2, Klinehoffer gave ONU a 1-0 lead in the second with a bases-loaded ground out, scoring Buckingham.

In the third frame, senior All-American T.J. Storer (Loveland/Moeller) singled and scored from first base when the BW third baseman fielded Buckingham's tapper down the line and threw the ball into right field to make it 2-0.

That's all the runs the Polar Bears would need as three ONU pitchers combined for a 6-hit shutout.

Junior Blake Lester (Chesepeake) (1-1) went 6.2 innings in a starting role, allowing only four base hits and striking out two to earn his first collegiate victory.

Sophomore Devin Johnson (Wooster) got the final out of the seventh and pitched a 1-2-3 eighth.

Storer then slammed the door in the ninth, retiring the side in order to earn his OAC-leading eighth save of the season and increasing his school record career total to 35.

The Polar Bears will return to action Thursday afternoon with a 4 pm non-conference contest at Ohio Wesleyan.