Baseball: Albion (Mich.) (22-17 Overall) at Ohio Northern (21-16 Overall)
Monday, May 6, 2019, 4:30 p.m. — Wander Field, Ada, Ohio
Monday's Preview: The Ohio Northern baseball program wraps up its 2019 regular season slate Monday afternoon with a single nonconference contest against Albion (Mich.) at Wander Field ... Game time is set for 4:30 p.m. in Ada ... The Polar Bears enter the affair sporting a 21-16 overall record ... ONU has already qualified for the 2019 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament with a 10-8 league mark after a 7-4 (F/10), 3-8 split with Wilmington on Sunday ... Senior Jackson Buda recorded the win in the opener after tossing 3.2 innings and preventing a WC score with two runners in scoring position during the ninth inning ... Sophomore Andy Mills put Northern up 5-4 in extras with an RBI single before classmate Michael Rocco added two insurance runs with a two-run double ... Through 37 games, Rocco leads the Polar Bears and ranks second in the OAC with a .420 batting average and leads ONU with 26 RBI ... Sophomore Matthew Burkett sits second on the team with a .346 clip and owns 18 RBI, 16 runs, and nine doubles ... Senior Luke Klinhoffer tops ONU with 29 runs and is tied for the team lead in hits (55) on a .340 average ... He is tied for the program lead in career doubles (46) and sits third all-time with 189 career hits, just eight off the school record ... Junior pitcher Jack Schaller leads Ohio Northern and is tied for third in the league with five wins ... Meanwhile, classmate Nate Bye stands second on the team with four victories ... He tops the pitching staff with 37 strikeouts, two complete games, and nine starts in a team-high 56.2 innings ... Albion enters the contest owning a 22-17 overall record in the 2019 campaign ... The Britons are coming off a 3-1, 8-4 sweep over Trine (Ind.) on Sunday afternoon ... AC has booked a spot in the MIAA Tournament with a 17-11 conference record ... Sophomore Drew Olszewski paces the team with a .366 batting average, 53 hits, 32 runs scored, and 26 stolen bases this season ... Meanwhile, classmate Kellan Huang tops the Britons with 40 RBI ... On the mound, senior Mitch Shedlowsky leads the team with seven wins.
Ohio Northern Batting Leaders:
Batting Ave. | Hits | Runs | RBIs | |||||||||||
1. | Rocco | .420 | 1. | Klinehoffer | 55 | 1. | Klinehoffer | 29 | 1. | Rocco | 26 | |||
2. | Burkett | .346 | Rocco | 55 | 2. | Rocco | 25 | 2. | Thomas | 24 | ||||
3. | Klinehoffer | .340 | 3. | Burkett | 44 | 3. | P. Buckingham | 24 | 3. | Klinehoffer | 23 |
Ohio Northern Pitching Leaders:
Wins | ERA (Min. 30 Inn.) | Strikeouts | Saves | |||||||||||
1. | Schaller | 5 | 1. | Buda | 1.50 | 1. | Bye | 37 | 1. | Fisher | 2 | |||
2. | Bye | 4 | 2. | Schaller | 2.48 | 2. | Lester | 30 | Mohr | 2 | ||||
3. | Wagner | 3 | 3. | Bye | 3.18 | 3. | Mohr | 27 | 3. | 4 Tied W/ | 1 |
All-Time Series Notes: Ohio Northern holds a 6-3 all-time series advantage over the Britons ... The two programs met earlier this season at the RussMatt Invitational in Florida on March 5 ... ONU won the contest 7-5.
ONU Head Coach Gene Stechschulte: Stechschulte is in his eighth season leading the Ohio Northern baseball program with a 180-131 record, a .579 win percentage.