Baseball downs Wittenberg 10-7 at Wander Field in non-conference action
By Caleb Scott
ADA — The Ohio Northern baseball team picked up a tight 10-7 victory over non-conference foe Wittenberg on Monday evening at Wander Field.
The Polar Bears improve to 26-11 overall, while the Tigers fall to 13-21.
Freshman Will Davis (Upper Arlington/Bishop Watterson) led ONU offensively with three hits, two RBI and a run scored.
ONU got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the first inning after a single from senior Hayden Shenefield (Powell/Worthington Kilbourne) and a single from Davis pushed a run across to give ONU a 1-0 lead.
With Davis on base, senior Jason Burkett (Maumee) hit his team-leading fifth home run of the year to extend the lead to 3-0.
After Wittenberg answered with a run in the top of the second inning, junior Caleb Thomas (Strongsville) crossed home plate in the bottom of the third inning on a fielders choice to push the lead to 4-1.
The Tigers were able to add two runs in the top of the fourth inning before senior Dan Barna (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) scored on an RBI single from senior Brandon Kasberg (Mentor) in the bottom of the fourth inning to keep a its distance at 5-3.
Anther run from Wittenberg was answered by the ONU offense in the bottom of the fifth inning as Burkett scored on a single from sophomore Phil Buckingham (Wayne/Elmwood) to give ONU a 6-4 lead.
With the bases loaded in the same inning, Klinehoffer hit a single to left center field to plate two runs and run the lead to 8-4.
After TU cut the lead to 8-7, a double from Davis plated Shenefield to give ONU a 9-7 lead. Freshman Andy Mills (Cincinnati/St. Xavier) was able to score on a defensive miscue in the same inning to push the lead to 10-7, before senior closer T.J. Storer (Loveland/Moeller) slammed the door in the ninth inning to grab his tenth save of the season.
Junior Jackson Buda (Norton) earned his first victory on the mound this season, moving to 1-0.
The Polar Bears return to Wander Field on Tuesday afternoon with a 4 p.m. contest against Olivet (Mich.).
