Baseball splits doubleheader at No. 3 Baldwin Wallace to open OAC play

By Wes Mayberry

BEREA — The Ohio Northern baseball team split a doubleheader with Baldwin Wallace to open Ohio Athletic Conference play on Sunday at Fisher Field.

The Polar Bears (11-6 overall, 1-1 OAC) won the first game 9-6, and the Yellow Jackets (14-4 overall, 1-1 OAC) took the second game 11-6.

In Game 1, sophomore Joey Kennedy (Sterling Heights, Mich./Foley Catholic) and senior Nate Webb (Bath, Ind./Union County) had a team-best three hits each for ONU, and junior Logan Stevens (Plain City/Jonathan Alder) had a team-high three RBIs.

Luke Vonderhaar led the Yellow Jackets with three hits and four RBIs.

The Polar Bears got on the scoreboard right away with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning courtesy of RBI singles from Webb and senior Vinny Sclafani (Oak Brook, Ill./Hinsdale Central).

Vonderhaar's RBI single in the bottom of the first, 2-RBI double in the third and RBI single in the fifth put BWU up 4-2, but a seven-run sixth gave ONU the lead for good.

Northern opened the top of the sixth with a Webb single and Sclafani walk. Junior Corey Jeanor (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) followed with a double that scored Webb, and freshman Robbie Reed (Goshen, Ky./Trinity) loaded the bases on a hit-by-pitch with one out.

Kennedy kept the offense going with a 2-RBI single, and Stevens added a three-run homer to give Northern a 7-4 lead.

After a BWU pitching change, fifth-year senior Corey McMann (Flower Mound, Tex./Liberty Christian) hit a single and stole second base before scoring on a double from Webb that extended ONU's lead to 8-4.

The Yellow Jackets answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth via an RBI double from Vincent Capolupo and sacrifice fly from Sean Kolenich but were unable to get any closer.

Sophomores Blake Altaffer (Montpelier) and Vaughn Duncan (Springfield) pitched a scoreless final three innings for ONU, combining to give up just four hits and one walk while striking out three. Duncan recorded his fifth save of the year.

Sophomore Blake Peterson (Belle Center/Benjamin Logan) pitched 1.1 innings in relief of senior starter Tim Knapschaefer (Maria Stein/Marion Local) and earned the victory to improve to 2-0 on the season.

The Polar Bears continued their hot hitting in Game 2 with 11 more hits after tallying 13 in Game 1.

Senior Jacob Wenning (Coldwater) finished with a team-best four hits to go with three from McMann.

Webb had two hits, including a home run, and three RBIs.

Capolupo paced the Yellow Jackets with three hits, including a double and home run, and six RBIs.

Northern took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. With two outs, Wenning hit an RBI single, and Webb followed with a two-run homer.

ONU made it 4-0 when freshman Chase Armstrong (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) scored on a BWU error in the second.

The Yellow Jackets tied the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the second, which was highlighted by a 3-RBI double from Capolupo.

The Polar Bears retook the lead in the fifth via an RBI double from Webb and Wenning scoring on a dropped third strike, making it 6-4.

BWU cut the lead to 6-5 on an RBI double from Ryan Guggenheim in the fifth and took a 7-6 edge on a 2-RBI single from Vonderhaar in the sixth.

The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to 10-6 courtesy of a three-run homer from Capolupo in the seventh and added another insurance run in the eighth to cap the scoring.

Garrett Miller earned the win on the mound, pitching 5.2 innings in relief and tallying seven strikeouts.

The Polar Bears return to action on Tuesday for a game at Trine (Ind.) at 4 p.m.