Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Ohio Wesleyan 9, Kenyon 3
Kenyon 7, Ohio Wesleyan 6

Sophomore outfielder Jon Erhard (Newark/Newark Catholic) belted a 2-run homer to highlight a 6-run second inning that put Ohio Wesleyan ahead to stay in the opener of a North Coast Athletic Conference doubleheader against Kenyon on Thursday at Littick Field.

In the nightcap, freshman catcher Zack Stiteler (Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange) singled home a pair of runs to wipe out a 1-0 deficit, but Kenyon struck for 6 runs in the eighth and ninth innings and held off a Bishop comeback to salvage a split.

The Lords had taken a 2-0 lead in the opener as Mikey Arman opened the game with a single and Jake Brown followed with a double, with Brown later coming in to score on an infield out by Matt von Roemer.

Erhard slammed a 2-run homer to tie the game in the bottom of the second, and the Bishops strung together hits by senior second baseman Matthew Messick (Dublin/Scioto), freshman outfielder Cole Antle (Grove City), senior outfielder Michael Blatchford (Shaker Heights), and sophomore first baseman Canyon McWilliams (Shaker Heights), then got a an RBI double from freshman third baseman Austin Harper (Sycamore/Mohawk) later in the inning.

Sophomore shortstop Carter Franklin (Wooster/Canton Central Catholic) knocked in a run in the third before Blatchford and McWilliams lined back-to-back RBI doubles to stretch the Ohio Wesleyan lead to 9-2.

McWilliams went 4-for-4 with 2 RBI, while Messick finished at 3-for-5 with 2 runs scored.  Senior righthander Kevin Zullo (Hudson) worked the first 7.1 innings to record the win, striking out 8 and walking 1.

Will Allen was the starting and losing pitcher for the Lords.

In the nightcap, Kenyon's Alex Hoskins singled in a run in the fifth inning to break up a pitchers' duel between sophomore righthander Justin Grubb (Pickerington/North) and Kenyon's Patrick Craig.

Ohio Wesleyan took the lead in the sixth on Stiteler's 2-out, bases-loaded single down the rightfield line and made it 3-1 on Blatchford's RBI double in the seventh.

The Lords got the run back in the eighth on von Roemer's solo homer, then rallied for 5 runs in the top of the ninth, parlaying 3 walks -- one intentional -- a hit batsman, 2 Bishop errors, and a pair of hits into 5 runs.  Matt Contreras singled home 2 runs during the rally, and von Roemer scored what would be a crucial run on a passed ball for a 7-3 Kenyon lead.

The Bishops rallied in the bottom of the inning, with McWilliams and Erhard singling in runs before a Stiteler RBI single brought Ohio Wesleyan within 7-6 and put the tying run at second and the winning run at first, but Kenyon's Will Oakley got the final out to nail down the win.

Blatchford went 4-for-5 with 2 runs scored, and Stiteler was 2-for-4 with 3 RBI.  McWilliams was charged with the loss in relief.

Nathan Chandler, the third of 4 Kenyon pitchers, received the win.

Box Score - Game 1
Box Score - Game 2