Owls outshine Comets to win home opener

3/25/2026 7:55:00 PM

Box Score GAMBIER, Ohio – After amassing a 9-8 record to start the season away from campus, the Kenyon College baseball team welcomed Capital University on Wednesday night for the team's 2026 home opener from McCloskey Field.

Despite the Comets taking both games in the team's doubleheader from earlier in the month, the Owls came out hot from the plate to take an early lead and never gave it up, taking the game 13-5 in the end, the team's second highest offensive output of the season.

Dylan Ritzenthaler got the nod on the mound and dealt one scoreless inning and one strikeout. Kenyon got on the board in the bottom of the first, when Otto McDill laced a sacrifice fly that scored Tyler Nee. Three more runs in the bottom of the second, which included an RBI triple from Zack Webber, a sacrifice fly from Ben Zimmerman and a homer from Nee put the Owls up 4-0.

Capital scored twice in the third inning, but three more runs in the bottom of the fourth set the score 7-2. Nee was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in Matt Ardell, while Aaron Moss added an RBI groundout on the next at bat. Zimmerman zipped home on a wild pitch in the next at bat.

Griffin Jackson and Jackson Niedel were next up on the bump for the Owls, going 2.0 and 2.1 innings respectively after one inning from Ritzenthaler. They each gave up two runs on three hits and combined for three strikeouts. The Comets cut the lead to 8-5 in the top of the sixth, but four Kenyon runs in the bottom half of the inning expanded the lead to 12-5.

After Jack Briscoe faced four batters to close the sixth, Isaiah Vance finished the game with three straight scoreless innings. He gave up just three hits and struck out one in 12 batters faced to close the game and prevent Capital from mounting any comeback.

For the game, Nee and Webber led the team with three hits each, while Zimmerman tacked on three RBIs. Nee also netted two stolen bases and tied with McDill for two RBIs of their own. Gio Giuliani and McDill also drew two walks each to lead the team.

Kenyon's record improves to 10-8 on the season. The Owls will open up North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play on Saturday, March 28 with a home doubleheader against Denison, with first pitch in game one coming at noon.

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