GAMBIER, Ohio – After falling, 4-2, in extra innings of game one on Wednesday, the Kenyon College baseball team belted a couple of home runs in game two and claimed a 10-3 win, as well as North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) doubleheader split with the Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops.
The split at McCloskey Field moved the Lords' records to 14-7 overall and 1-1 in NCAC play, while the Battling Bishops went to 8-10 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
During that second game, freshman
Jimmy Clark gave Kenyon the early lead with his first collegiate home run, a two-run shot to left center in the bottom of the second inning. Ohio Wesleyan responded with a run in the top of the third, but in the bottom half of the same inning
Patrick O'Leary tripled home
Alex Gow to give Kenyon a 3-1 advantage.
O'Leary, the Lords' starting pitcher in game two, earned the win after tossing five innings. He allowed just the one run, which was unearned, on three hits and three walks. Staying in the game as the designated hitter, O'Leary broke things open by blasting a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh. It was his team-leading fifth long ball of the season.
The Lords went on to post five runs in that seventh inning and two more in the eighth to run away with it. At the plate, O'Leary finished 3-for-4 with a run scored and six RBI. Clark tacked on a couple more hits and ended up 3-for-4 with a run and three RBI. Leadoff man
Ryan Page also went 3-for-4 in game two.
When O'Leary left the mound with a two-run lead,
Will Allen took over in the sixth and earned his first save of the season by closing out the final four innings.
In game one, both teams' starting pitchers worked in and out of trouble. For Kenyon, sophomore
Patrick Craig worked six-and-a-third innings. He hit three batters, walked one and gave up seven hits, but allowed just one unearned run. For Ohio Wesleyan, Seth Pritchett went five-and-a-third innings, walked two, gave up five hits and did not yield a run.
The game went scoreless for the first six innings. Ohio Wesleyan then broke through with unearned run in the seventh inning and Kenyon answered with an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth.
In the top of the ninth, Ohio Wesleyan's Mitchell Johnson homered to give the Battling Bishops another one-run lead. Kenyon, however, had another answer. In the bottom of the ninth, Page doubled. The next batter,
Matt Contreras, tripled to plate Page and tied the game. The Lords went on to load the bases with just one out, but Ohio Wesleyan reliever Canyon McWilliams took over and struck out two Lords, sending the game to extra innings.
The Battling Bishops capitalized on a Kenyon error and got to Kenyon reliever
Charlie Bailey for two runs in the top of the top of the 11th inning. McWilliams, who fanned seven of the 11 batters he faced, finished off the Lords in the bottom of the 11th and earned his first win of the season.
Throughout the game, Kenyon left 16 runners stranded, while Ohio Wesleyan left a dozen.
Next up for Kenyon is a trip to Wabash College on Saturday for another conference doubleheader with the Little Giants. Game one is slated for a noon start.
