Baseball cruises to 15-5 victory over Bridgewater (Va.)

By Blake Moore

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The Ohio Northern baseball program rolled past nonconference foe Bridgewater (Va.) Wednesday afternoon, capturing a 15-5 victory at Osceola Heritage Park #2 in Kissimmee, Fla. as part of the 2019 RussMatt Invitational.

The Polar Bears improve to 3-2 overall following the midweek victory. Meanwhile, Bridgewater drops to 3-7 overall this season.

Senior Luke Klinehoffer (Zanesville/John Glenn) and sophomore Will Davis (Upper Arlington/Bishop Watterson) headlined an offensive barrage that produced 15 hits in the contest.

Klinehoffer led the way with a five-for-six effort at the dish. He would score four runs during the contest and chip in one RBI to the offensive output.

Meanwhile, Davis racked up a team-high three RBI on a two-for-four outing. The Upper Arlington native also scored twice and recorded a double in his four plate appearances.

In all, 10 Polar Bears registered a base hit in the nonconference affair for a well-balanced offensive attack.

On the mound, junior right-handed pitcher Troy Wagner (Liberty Township/Lakota West) received his first win this season after tossing the first four innings on Wednesday afternoon. He would concede three earned runs and strike out four batters.

For the Eagles, outfielder Matthew LaPrade led the team with a three-for-four outing and an RBI.

Ohio Northern raced out to an early 8-0 lead after two and a half innings, scoring three runs in the first, two in the second, and three more in the third.

Bridgewater responded with two runs of their own in the third and one more in the fourth, making the deficit just 8-3.

However, the Polar Bears hung four runs on the board in the sixth inning, stretching the lead back to nine. Sophomore Michael Rocco (Orlando, Fla./Zionsville, Ind.) scored on a passed ball to start the rally before Davis slapped a two-RBI double into left field and Phil Buckingham (Wayne/Elmwood) supplied a sacrifice fly.

Northern went on to score three more runs in the final two innings as freshman Chayten Overholt (Delphos/Lincolnview), senior Caleb Thomas (Strongsville), and junior Jake Gherardi (Youngstown/Austintown-Fitch) each recorded RBI singles down the stretch.

The Polar Bears will take a break from action tomorrow before returning to the diamond on Friday afternoon for a single contest against Salve Regina (N.Y.). Game time is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at the Lake Myrtle #7 complex.