GAMBIER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College baseball team welcomed fans to McCloskey Field for the first time in two weeks, and the Owls gave their home crowd plenty to cheer about over the course of a doubleheader sweep against the Wabash College Little Giants. Kenyon came out on the right end of a closely contested 7-6 opening game before clinching the sweep by winning 11-1 in walk-off fashion in the seventh inning due to run rule.

The two victories snapped a three-game losing streak and boosted Kenyon's record to 18-9 overall and 5-3 in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) contests. Wabash fell to 14-16 overall and 3-7 in conference play.

The teams combined for 24 hits with 12 apiece in game one, but the abundance of knocks only led to 13 combined runs. After two straight strikeouts, a Wabash solo shot started the scoring in the top of the first inning. The visitors doubled their early lead with a sacrifice fly in the second, but the bottom of the Kenyon order came up big in the bottom of the inning. Dustin Lee doubled before coming home on a two-out RBI double from Stephen Carr, and Carr came around after the No. 9 hitter, Gio Giuliani, hit a game-tying RBI single.

Kenyon's bottom half of the order came through again in the bottom of the fourth. Four straight Owls reached base thanks to a pair of walks and a pair of RBI doubles. Edwin Groff had the first of those two-baggers before Giuliani kept it going with another. Nate Rosen capped the three-run inning with a sacrifice fly, giving the Owls a 5-2 edge.

Kamden Early came through again in the ensuing half-inning, smacking his second home run over the right field wall, his season's first two round-trippers. The two-run shot cut into Kenyon's lead, but Theo Canning and his defense bounced back to get the Owls out of the inning.

The Little Giants scraped across runs in each of the next two innings, taking a 6-5 lead in the top of the seventh on an unearned run after a throwing error. However, Kenyon's offense quickly erased the deficit and reclaimed the lead after stringing together four straight hits in the bottom of the seventh, highlighted by a two-RBI double off the bat of Luke Meister. The Owls were set up for more, but Wabash benefitted from an odd inning-ending double-play after throwing out two Owls on the basepaths after a pitch in the dirt did not get far enough away, and the Kenyon runners got caught in no man's land.

Peyton Hodges was great in 2.2 innings of relief, allowing just two hits and one unearned run. The first-year earned the win for his efforts, improving to 3-1 this season. Christian Harris came on in the top of the ninth to face a lefty pinch hitter before Wabash countered by sending up a righty to face the left-handed pitcher, and the junior secured his season's second save by getting the game's final two outs. Harris stranded a pair of Little Giants on base, a theme that helped the Owls throughout the game as nine Wabash players were stranded, and Kenyon clinched the 7-6 win by keeping the potential tying and go-ahead runs on the bases.

Giuliani was a catalyst for the offense throughout the game, and the first-year notched his first three-hit game while also swiping a bag. He also tied his season-high with two RBIs, matching Meister for the team lead. Drew Robinson joined his fellow outfielders in having a good day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a run and a stolen base.

Kenyon's offense kept rolling in game two, notching 13 hits in just seven innings. The Owls also turned their hits into more runs than they did in game two, but it took an inning for them to really get going. Kenyon loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the first, but Wabash limited the damage to just one run after Meister picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly. 

Kenyon had the same setup in the second, and the Owls made the most of another chance with the bases juiced. Rosen added another RBI to welcome a new pitcher before Robinson kept the line moving with an RBI single. Malcolm Gaynor capped the big inning with a two-RBI double to the wall in right-center, putting the Owls ahead 5-0.

It got even better for the Owls in the third when Rosen came up to bat with three more Owls on the pond. The junior stayed hot and smashed a grand slam to unload the bases, his third productive at-bat in as many times to the plate. The blast, Rosen's first homer this season, put the Owls ahead 9-0.

Wabash countered with an unearned run in the top of the fourth, but Kenyon reinstated their nine-run lead with an unearned run in the bottom of the frame to get the home team on the board for a fourth straight inning.

After a couple of scoreless frames, the top of the Kenyon order came up with a chance to end the game early. Robinson smacked a leadoff single to spark the walk-off bid, and Gaynor set the table with a single that put runners on the corner with no outs before stealing second. Tripper Capps came up with his two senior classmates in scoring position, and he got the job done with a walk-off RBI single that ended the game due to run rule as Kenyon led by 10, 11-1, after seven innings.

Rosen was the only Kenyon batter not to record a hit in game one, but he had a huge second game, going 2-for-5 with a career-high five RBIs. The junior also scored three times, tying a season-high and matching his classmate Groff for a game-best. Groff reached base every time he stepped up to bat, going a perfect 3-for-3 and getting hit by a pitch. The designated hitter was one of five Owls to have multiple hits, joining Rosen, Robinson, Gaynor, and Capps.

Another major reason Kenyon was able to clinch an expedited victory was pitcher Jackson Niedel. The sophomore had a top-notch performance on the mound, allowing just four hits and one unearned run over 6.0 innings to secure his third win of the season. Noah Rosenberg also added to the strong game for Kenyon's hurlers, throwing a scoreless seventh inning.

Up next, the Owls stay home to host Oberlin College on Wednesday, April 24. Game one of the doubleheader is set to start at noon on McCloskey Field.