DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University (26-11, 13-5 NCAC) won the opening doubleheader over Kenyon College in a North Coast Athletic Conference Crossover series Saturday afternoon at Littick Field. The Battling Bishops won 26-6 in game one and followed that up with an 11-2 victory in the second contest. With the sweep, OWU will advance to the four-team NCAC Tournament next week.
 
GAME ONE
 
The opener was a back-and-forth affair through the first three innings.
 
Kenyon freshman Matt von Roemer got the Lords on the board in the first with a solo shot to left field. OWU came right back to tie the game in the home half of the inning as C.J. Tosino connected with a two-out RBI single to center field.
 
In the second, Colin Stolly put Ohio Wesleyan ahead 3-1 as he sent a shot down the left field line plating Tyler Flaherty and Michael Blatchford.
 
An early deficit didn't faze the Lords though. With two outs in the top of the third, Kyle Hardacker smoked a two-run shot to left field and tied the game at 3.
 
The fourth inning brought another Kenyon lead as designated hitter Jono Chafe fired a homer to left field and moved the score to 4-3, Lords.
 
After retiring the Kenyon side in the top of the fifth, the Battling Bishops took the lead. Blatchford tied the game as he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. In the next at-bat, after Jesse Bogacz was relieved by Sam Gillespie, OWU went ahead 5-4 on a balk. Two more runs were plated on a RBI groundout from Flaherty and a run-scoring double from Stolly.
 
Kenyon cut into the 7-4 deficit in the sixth with a pair of runs. Catcher Jake Berry drew a bases-loaded walk and Casey Rosenfeld followed with a sacrifice fly scoring John Nahra.
 
That was the closest the Lords got the rest of the way though.
 
OWU added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth on homers from Tosino and Devin Van Winkle. After a scoreless seventh, the Battling Bishops rang up 16 runs in the eighth. Three of the first four batters started the frame with home runs.
 
GAME TWO
 
After a convincing win in the opener, the momentum carried over for Ohio Wesleyan in game two.
 
The Battling Bishops jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second with Collin Finn delivering a sacrifice fly to center and Justin Dages reaching on an error allowing Flaherty to score.
 
Van Winkle moved OWU ahead 4-0 with a two-run homer in the third.
 
Charles Cooper was solid on the mound for the Battling Bishops allowing just three hits to Kenyon through seven innings. He retired the side in three of those seven innings.
 
Ohio Wesleyan had an 11-0 lead heading into the eighth before Kenyon got on the board.
 
Jake Dunn connected with a two-out double to right center plating Max Heldman for the Lords' first run. The scoring was capped off by Chafe's RBI groundout in the ninth scoring Phillip Nam.
 
The Lords will play their final game of the season tomorrow against Ohio Wesleyan starting at noon.