Baseball falls to New Jersey City in RussMatt Invitational
By Wes Mayberry
AUBURNDALE, Fla. — The Ohio Northern baseball team put together a 6-run seventh inning but ultimately fell 19-9 to New Jersey City on Tuesday in the RussMatt Invitational tournament at Lake Myrtle Park.
The Polar Bears drop to 0-4 overall on the season, while the Gothic Knights improve to 2-4.
Trailing 14-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Northern started its rally with an RBI single from freshman Andrew Stechschulte (Findlay). Junior Vinny Sclafani (Oak Brook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) later added a two-out, 2-RBI single, and sophomore Noah Truax (Lewis Center/Bishop Watterson) came home on a wild pitch. Junior Nate Webb (Bath, Ind./Union County) plated the final two runs of the frame with a double down the right-field line, bringing the score to 14-9.
Webb was 2-for-5 with three RBIs to lead the ONU offense in the game.
The Gothic Knights answered with a run in the eighth inning and four more in the ninth to close out the scoring.
NJCU got on the board early with six runs in the first inning after loading the bases on a pair of walks sandwiching a hit-by-pitch.
The Gothic Knights added three more runs in each of the third and fourth frames before ONU got on the board with a run in the bottom of the fifth.
Truax and freshman Joey Kennedy (Sterling Heights, Mich./Foley Catholic) both reached base via a hit-by-pitch, and senior Corey McMann (Flower Mound, Tex./Liberty Christian) loaded the bases on a one-out single. Truax then scored when Webb reached based on an NJCU error, making the score 12-1.
After NJCU scored a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, ONU answered with two of its own in the bottom of the frame.
The Polar Bears loaded the bases with no outs on back-to-back walks to freshman Ethan Spears (Oregon/Clay) and Stechschulte followed by a single from Truax. Kennedy scored Spears on a sac fly to right field, and Stechschulte later scored when McMann reached on an NJCU error, making the score 14-3.
The Polar Bears return to action on Thursday at 9 a.m. to continue their RussMatt Invitational slate against Concordia (Ill.).